Launch Pad
Nothing much was revealed about my identity when I did Love Aaj Kal. I play Saif Ali Khan’s love interest, Harleen Kaur. I had hardly any dialogues and the two lines that I spoke in the film were dubbed. I had to play a shy, Punjabi girl who only wore plain salwar kameez, so it was pretty much simple.

Casting Coup
I am from Espirito Santa in Brazil. I started modelling when I was a 17-year-old. My modelling assignments took me to Germany, Italy and many other places across the globe. A lot of people told me I look Indian because of my jet-black hair. Even my dad used to say I looked Indian when I was hardly six years old. I came to India last year on a modelling assignment and in those 20 days that I stayed here, I met Imtiaz and bagged the role.

Stepping Stone
My modelling assignments have been of great help to me. Earlier, I used to be a little shy facing the camera, but now I am completely confident. When I bagged the role I didn’t know anything about India and Indian culture. So, when Imtiaz told me I was to play a Punjabi girl, I had to start from scratch. I had no idea how Punjabi’s dressed, so Imtiaz helped me with that. I also took diction classes and dance classes for a month.

First Shot
I wasn’t nervous at all. Imtiaz was telling me what I was supposed to do and that is exactly what I did. I was just trying to concentrate and get into the skin of the character. Imtiaz was of great help to me because when I landed in India, I didn’t know what Bollywood was. It’s only now that I realise, I am working with really big names in the industry.

Stumbling Block
The dancing part was quite difficult. In spite of taking lessons in dance, it took me a long time to get my steps right. I had to lip-sync and memorise the lyrics and match the steps. Everything had to be perfect and even a slight change caused great difficulty. There were reports in the newspapers about me being left out of the film’s promotions but that was done to protect my identity. There was a certain amount of mystique and magic in Harleen and the production guys wanted it to remain intact. If my identity had been out, nobody would be convinced about me playing a Punjaban.

Lessons Learnt
I have learnt that you have to be very patient and willing to learn. You have to give a lot of yourself to the role and always be optimistic. Strive to do better and I am sure success will come your way.

Matinee Idol
In Bollywood I do not know much, but I am really fond of Aamir Khan. I also liked Imtiaz’s previous film, Jab We Met. I am also a big fan of Dakota Fanning, a 12-year-old girl who played the lead in Hounddog, a Hollywood film. I am looking forward to working with everyone in Bollywood.