Do you recognize the name Omi Vaidya from his appearances on shows like CSI , The Office , or Kath & Kim ? Of course you don't.

Actually, no one knew who he was (maybe not even his friends or family) until he landed the role of the goofy Chatur "Silencer" Ramalingam in a film called 3 Idiots , starring Indian A-lister Aamir Khan. That comedy smashed box office records and turned out the highest-grossing Bollywood film. Ever.

The transformation of Indo-American actor Omi Vaidya from Hollywood unknown to Bollywood celebrity, and how it changed his world, is documented in Big In Bollywood , which plays at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival on Friday (November 4).

If you hadn't already heard, the 14th annual edition of VAFF runs this weekend, from November 3 to 6. While there are quite a number of programs of short films as well as everything from dramas (like Desiree Lim's The House ) to comedies ( Almost Perfect , starring X-Men 2 's Kelly Hu and Hong Kong star Edison Chen), there are documentaries like Big In Bollywood to keep in mind.

Another documentary at VAFF captures a different kind of cross-cultural exchange. While it'll be of interest to one of Vancouver's largest Asian Canadian populations, it'll also attract anyone concerned about the plight of migrant workers. The Learning , directed by Ramona S. Diaz, chronicles a year in the life of four Filipino women working in the tough social realities of Baltimore's inner-city schools due to shortage of American teachers.

Each year, over a million Pinoys leave their families and friends behind in the Philippines in the hopes of better-paying jobs overseas and sending money back home. They're in for some serious culture shock as they contend with unruly students and a need to connect with youth in new ways.

The theme of migration is also a focus of the Life in Transit program on Saturday (November 5).

Resident Aliens follows three former gang members and Cambodian refugees who survived genocide in their homeland and grew up in the U.S. but end up being deported back to Cambodia due to felony convictions.

One of them, KK, who had to leave behind his own son in California, becomes the country's first breakdancer as a means to help poor children in more desperate conditions than himself.

Tuttle, best known for directing The King of Kong about an attempt to break the Donkey Kong world record, will be attending the screening.

For more details about the festival, visit the VAFF website.

You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig .