Technology Style & Design 2009: The Best Tech from Developing Countries

Face it, fam: Japan can’t make everything. As globalization continues to level the playing field, nations that have historically depended on foreign imports for luxury items are creating their own lines of affordable homegrown goods. As featured in our 2009 Style & Design package, we’re taking a closer look at the pros and cons of three notable new products made in developing countries. Read on to see how the whole world is getting involved…

Girls 5 Bollywood Beauties Who Aren’t Natalie Portman

Hollywood actors have a long history for faking the funk when they portray anyone of another ethnicity. Don’t get it twisted, we’re not mad at the Italian-born Al Pacino for playing a Cuban or even Robert Downey Jr.’s ironic blackface in Tropic Thunder, but we don’t quite know how to feel about Natalie Portman’s parody of a Bollywood starlett in Devandra Banhart’s new video for a track titled “Carmensita”.

Obviously, Portman landed the role because she’s dating the Venezuelan folk singer. But with the plethora of real life Bollywood beauties out there, we might have cast someone who is actually, you know, Indian. Everybody knows Aishwarya Rai, but there are a gang of younger starletts just waiting for an introduction to the West. After the jump we’ve compiled five real Bollywood stunners who would’ve put Portman’s performance to shame.

Comics Indian Comics Are Edutainment

With every comic this side of Bazooka Joe receiving the movie treatment this summer, we’re almost (almost) coming down with a case of comic book fatigue here at the Complex offices. (creating our Second Annual Comic Special was no easy feat, folks).

Always on the lookout for new shit in the ink and paper world, we were stoked to come across fantasy author Jeff VanderMeer’s collection of ’70s comics from India. The Hugo Award-winning author turns 40 next week and is revisiting his comic collection (which is something we can relate to'except we do it when we turn 24, 25, 26 and most days in between). It turns out there was (and still is) a whole genre of comics depicting Indian historical and religious figures. Peep more of Jeff’s collection after the jump.

Rides India Colonizes England’s Luxury Cars

After England came in without asking and ran their country for 100 years, its nice to see Indians taking back some power through the business world. Today it was announced that Tata Motors, the biggest car manufacturer in India, has finalized its purchase of not one but two high-end British luxury car brands: Jaguar and Land Rover.

This is the second international coup for Tata, who already bought South Korea’s Daewoo truck division in 2004. But Tata is probably most famous for recently creating the Nano, which claims to be the least expensive car in the world at only $2,500. If only we could get a fresh Land Rover for that much, our fleet would be stocked. Watch the unveiling of the Nano after the jump…