Brie Larson under fire for 'white saviour role' in new film Basmati Blues

Brie Larson has been slammed for her role in romantic musical Basmati Blues and accused of perpetuating stereotypes.

The 28-year-old actor, who rose to fame for her role on 2001 sitcom Raising Dad, plays the role of an American scientist who works for a company which produces genetically modified rice.

Larson's boss sends her and her father, played by Scott Bakula, to India to sell the rice to rural farmers but she later learns it will wreak havoc on the very farmers she planned to help.

The trailer has been fiercely criticised on Twitter, with people panning the decision to cast a white actor in the lead role and arguing the plot of having a white person “save” an Indian village play plays into tropes of the so-called “white saviour”.

“It’s 2017 and we are still not past the genre of 'mystical Indian savages get saved by a white person' films #BasmatiBlues,” said one critic.

“Basmati Blues is a terrible looking film filled with loads of stereotypes about Indians and India. We don’t need another movie about white saviours when we did everything in our power to get white people out of our country,” said another.

“So f****** done with Hollywood films of white people coming to save our souls & rice & lands! Blood Diamond formulaic b*******! Disgusted by @brielarson's choice, what a sellout! F*** the white saviour narrative in films...nothing is further from the truth! (sic),” added one more.

Another said: “I cannot believe Brie Larson is gonna be in a movie called... wait for it... Basmati Blues, where she plays a white saviour helping out the local Indian population.”

Critics also blasted the film, directed by Dan Baron which also stars Donald Sutherland and Tyne Daley, for its portrayal of Indian food as overly spicy.

The furore follows the criticism Disney received in September for creating a whole new role for a white actor in its new Aladdin film.

The multinational company was accused of “whitewashing” after it cast Billy Magnussen as a character called Prince Anders who did not appear in the original animated 1992 film.

The Independent contacted a representative for Larson for comment.