It’s just been a year since actor Asin shifted base to aamchi Mumbai. So she is still new to the vagaries of monsoon here. But if you thought this pretty Keralite misses the rain-lashed lush greenery of her hometown, you couldn’t be more wrong. “I love the rains. I have a good view of nature’s beauty even from my Mumbai house,” smiles the actress who’s recently moved into her new suburban flat. She’s wanted to stay on her own since she turned 21 and after two years she’s managed to fulfill her dream. Her parents, however, live just five minutes away from her pad. “I don’t mind that, in fact, it is a help,” she grins. What’s more, in a month and a half since she’s shifted, she’s already made friends with the children in her building who fondly address her as Kalpana, her screen name in Ghajini. She’s so taken up with the kids that one rainy day she gathered all of them in her house and had an impromptu kiddy party. “The kids divided themselves into two groups, while one team crooned the Hey bacchu (Ghajini) song, the other group enthusiastically danced to it,” she informs. Clearly, the Ghajini euphoria persists.

But that’s not all there is to the beautiful southern import. She has endorsements galore, beginning with TataSky, Big Bazaar, Fairever, Clinic All Clear and another one that she will be announcing soon. Not that endorsements are new to Asin, who’s been modelling since the age of 14, but certainly Ghajini’s super-success in Hindi has broadened her base and made her a pan-India ambassador for many brands. Right now, the actor is busy completing her ad campaigns and waiting to complete one song for her film London Dreams co-starring Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan. In between winning awards, the latest being the Kalaimamani Award, which is being bestowed on her by the Tamil Nadu government, Asin’s busy going through scripts. Amongst the film offers, four are from the south and she is “seriously considering” taking up two of them. “It’s nice to know that people want to see me in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films,” she says, touched by the huge fan base she has in the south. She was recently in Thiruvananthapuram to train for Kalaripayattu for her film 19th Step and was taken aback by the huge crowd that had gathered to see her. “Though nobody was allowed inside, they patiently waited outside for me,” says the actress, success sitting prettily on her dainty shoulders.

She practised for a week and in the process hurt herself. That didn’t stop her from going for an awards function in Macau. “However, I missed out on bungee- jumping because of my ligament injury,” she sighs. That, however, is not deterring her from pursuing her training. “I have always admired the graceful and fearsome art of Kalaripayattu and I will utilise this opportunity to learn,” she says with a cool determination. The shooting for the film is yet to be finalised though. Recent reports suggest that it has been indefinitely postponed. “I am waiting to hear from the producers,” agrees Asin.

As for her other films, there’s nothing besides London Dreams, which is scheduled for an October release. That will be almost a year after Ghajini. Isn’t she apprehensive of losing out to the Katrinas and Kareenas who are the curent flavour, with their hit films New York and Kambakkht Ishq respectively. “No, I am not an insecure person. Neither am I in a hurry, ‘cause haste always makes waste,” she laughs off the out-of-sight-out-of-mind syndrome.