Dino dreams of Hollywood

Dino Morea has learnt it the hard way. Bad movie choices like Chhal: The Game Of Death (which never released) aside, the actor now has a variety of movies all set to release this month. Even his last film, Aksar - packed with the formula ingredients, opened to a warm response.

"The mistakes I made were an eye-opener," he says.

But right and wrong go hand in hand. Having done odd jobs in market research and even modelling during college, where he earned Rs 500, he proudly states that he is an owner of a house in Bandra, an expensive Mumbai suburb, today.

Sheetal Seth caught up with Dino to talk about his career and upcoming film Holiday. Read on.

What's your role in Holiday?

My character is called Dino. This boy lives in Goa. He is very happy go lucky and always smiling. He loves to dance. Then this passion translates into his profession where he begins to teach what he loved the most. As the film proceeds, he meets Onjolee (Nair), a girl with a big ego. The film proceeds as I teach her to dance, during which I manage to break down her ego, and then we fall in love.

What do you think of the movie?

The movie is beautiful. It has good songs, fantastic dances and more over it has me (laughs). Both Onjolee and I rehearsed dancing together for three months. That's also the time when we started to get along very well.

How was it working with Onjolee?

Onjolee came in at the last minute. But I would say as a newcomer she is good. She has put in a lot of effort. She had a visible hunger for work. Onjolee was very cooperative with me, but that is something seen in every newcomer.

What's your favorite scene in the movie?

My favorite scene is when Onjolee and I are parting. There is this dialogue where I tell her 'not to change.' My favorite song is Aashiyaan, currently being aired on television channels. It's a hit already.

Any memorable experience during the movie?

During the shoots, we took time to throw Pooja (Bhatt, the director) into the water. We also did the same to Onjolee. We shot for 30 days in Goa, which I enjoyed a lot. Holiday is among the movies that I have enjoyed a lot. The other movies that I enjoyed working in were Sssshhh, Raaz and Pyaar Main Kabhi Kabhi.

What about your other films?

There's Tom, Dick And Harry and Fight Club.

In Tom, Dick And Harry, I play Tom. It's a comedy flick, my first. Before doing this I always thought acting in comedy was different and difficult as a genre. But I enjoyed myself a lot and hope that my efforts in this movie translate into good work.

Any choice of people you would want to work in this industry?

I would like to work with all the A's: Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Aishwarya Rai. Among the directors: Farhan Akhtar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Mani Ratnam.

You always aspired to be in Hollywood. Are you working on it?

I grew up watching English movies and always wanted to be associated with them. I have not started approaching anyone for work in Hollywood as yet. I think it's very important that I make my foundation strong in Bollywood. Once I have achieved that bit here, I will have a red carpet to go there. And I'm still making my way in Bollywood.