The Versatile Rajeev.K FC IMP-RK Gold Awards Pg 40 - Page 72

Pretty Stranger

Geraldine Panapasa
Sunday, July 15, 2012

SAMANTHA Emmanuel may have pulled off the pretty stranger in the changing room look starring in the Bollywood movie Table No. 21 but out of character, she's your average girl next door with dreams of making it big one day.

Cast as an extra in the film directed by Aditya Datt featuring Tena Desae, Rajeev Khandelwal and Paresh Rawal, the aspiring lawyer says she landed the part of a pretty stranger by accident.

A bunch of students from the University of the South Pacific auditioned to be extras on set, including Samantha who eventually scored some 'reel' time in her first film debut.

Although she spoke just one line to make the main actor's girlfriend jealous in the changing room, it was an experience that forced her to occasionally pinch herself back to reality.

"We were in the fitting room and I had a really small part to play where I asked the main actor if someone was in the room ' I was supposed to make his girlfriend jealous," said the 20-year old.

"I wasn't paid for that part but it was a really big experience for me to come face-to-face with a Bollywood actor like Rajeev.

"I didn't even care if it was just one line - for me it was as if I landed a really big role in the film

"My friends and family, especially my parents were very supportive of my participation in this film."

Instead of being the crazy, screaming stalker fan, Samantha kept calm, cool and collected standing an arm's length away from a smoking hot Bollywood actor.

It was her first time to meet the two main actors, a privilege and opportunity she would talk about many years from now.

"I've been in front of the lens before but only for modelling clothes for Jack's of Fiji. I first started with small modeling jobs for Marama magazine then Jack's approached me last year for their Diwali special," said the slender Suva young lady.

"Modelling is not as easy as it looks. You have to really keep a straight face because your facial expressions speak a thousand words.

"There's a certain way to pose but I had help from Jack's with the shoots. It was a good part-time hobby I enjoyed. I was also privileged to model traditional attire on the ramp."

Samantha, a second-year law student at USP, wanted to be a pharmacist at first studying science at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial.

For now, Samantha says her time on the set of Table No. 21 made her more confident in her acting abilities than ever before.