Bangalore girls make a splash in Bollywood

Aug 22, 2009 R.G. Vijaysarathy

Bangalore, Aug 22 (IANS) After Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma, another actress from this city is all set to conquer the Hindi film industry. Priyamani will make her Bollywood debut with Mani Ratnam's "Ravan".

"I did not know that I will be a part of the Hindi film till the costume designer came to take my measurement for two sets of costumes. He said he had been instructed to take measurements for both the Tamil and Hindi versions of the film...I wear different dresses in them. I was very happy when this information was revealed to me by Sabyasachi Mukherjee who has been working with Rani Mukerji for Hindi films," Priyamani told IANS.

"Ravan" stars Bollywoood couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai in lead roles and Ratnam has already completed major portions of its shooting.

According to sources, even Priyadarshan is trying to rope in Priyamani for a Hindi film.

Priyamani modelled for several sari ads before she was signed for the Tamil film "Paruthiveeran", which won her the best actress National Award.

Deepika was the first to make headway in Bollywood with her dream debut in "Om Shanti Om" opposite Shah Rukh Khan. The film broke box-office records and the young actress hugely benefited from its success -- she landed roles in big banner projects like "Bachna Ae Haseeno", "Chandni Chowk To China" and "Love Aaj Kal".

Before bagging "Om Shanti Om", Deepika acted in Kannada film "Aishwarya".

After that Yash Raj Films introduced Anushka in their light romantic drama "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi". Once again this newcomer was paired with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and she carved a niche for herself in the role of a girl-next-door. After that she has been signed for two more Yash Raj projects.

Incidentally, another Bangalore-based girl Anushka Shetty, who is ruling the roost in the Telugu film industry, is ready to try her luck in Hindi films as her Telugu hit "Arundathi" is being dubbed in Hindi.

A former yoga teacher, she has been the talking point among some big Hindi movie producers.

Commenting upon the popularity of Bangalore girls in tinsel town, fashion designer Prasad Bidappa said: "It's a very cosmopolitan city and the mindset of people here is very different. Parents encourage their kids to take up professions like fashion, modelling or films."

Bidappa also runs a finishing school for models and has the credit of training models like Lara Dutta.

"Apart from that, this city provides the best grooming platform to budding actors. They get right grooming that helps them to polish their skills. After spending a year or two here, they are confident enough to take up any movie assignment.

"So it's a combination of various factors like meeting the right people at the right time and getting good assignments - all this is done very well in Bangalore where directors come looking for budding talent," he said.