ELLI AVRAM, WHO WILL MAKE AN APPEARANCE IN JHALAK DIKHHLA JAA NEXT WEEK, IS WORKING HARD ON HER HINDI
Subhash K Jha
Former Bigg Boss contestant Elli Avram is looking forward to a guest appearance on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa where she will be seen dancing simultaneously with two partners next weekend. ' The theme is Teen Ka Tadka. It's very tough. I've never danced professionally before let alone Bollywood dancing and that too with two other people sharing the stage with me. Am I nervous? Gosh, I sure am! The coordination of the steps has to be taken care of three times over. It's a big challenge. But I've never shied away from challenges,' Elli says.
Elli, who has made India her home, made her Bollywood debut in Mickey Virus last year. ' That didn't have any dancing. I was so looking forward to some real Bollywood dancing. I grew up doing it at home. I don't know what it was about Bollywood. But I always felt attracted to it.
Now here I am,' Elli adds.
But now she's busy polishing up her Hindi before she signs her second film. ' I speak only in Hindi to all my staff members.
Everybody around me has been requested to converse with me in Hindi. The results are showing. Main ab kafi Hindi bol leti hoon,' Elli says.
The proclivity to master the rashtriya bhasha makes Elli one- up on the other firangi actresses like Katrina Kaif and Nargis Fakhri who just can't get a hang of Hindi, no matter how hard they try.
Not just the national language, Elli says she is making every effort to belong in Bollywood. ' I feel Indian, I really do. When I go home to Greece or Sweden, I feel like a visitor there. I can't wait to get back to Mumbai.
Over here in India, I'm often mistaken for a Kashmiri or a Punjabi. That suits me fine. I love the idea of being taken for an Indian because I feel Indian. This is home,' Elli adds.
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