'There were times when I thought of quitting but I have always believed in my talent.'
Elli AvrRam takes centrestage in the Web series The Verdict - State Vs Nanavati, and she's thrilled to be a part of it.
After getting smaller roles and item numbers, the actress is finally getting a chance to spread her wings.
The Web series -- based on the 1959 Nanavati case -- is especially important for Elli, as she tells Rediff.com Contributor Divya Solgama, "The Verdict came to me at a point when I was feeling down in my career."
Do you think The Verdict has an edge over films like Yeh Rastey Hain Pyar Ke, Achanak and Rustom, which were inspired from the incident while yours is directly based on it?
Yes. Seventy percent of the script is based on facts, which the makers have got from official documents.
The courtroom drama in the series is exactly as per what happened in real life.
We have not changed anything that would shock viewers because we were shocked after getting all the facts.
You will see so much about Sylvia for the first time, what she went through.
You will get to see the woman’s point of view for the first time.
You will also see the point of views of those involved in this case.
I believe the whole nation was involved in this controversial case.
Do you feel this is the right time for foreign actors in Bollywood?
Yes, because it will make Bollywood larger.
In Hollywood, we have all kinds of nationalities, which makes it beautiful.
The same should be done in Bollywood because then, so many stories can be written.
What kind of roles are you usually offered?
I have been offered roles which need a hot looking girl, who is an NRI and has zero performance in the story.
I have declined every such offer because I am not interested in them.
But The Verdict is a beautiful story.
My character Sylvia is actually from England.
In the other movies, she’s shown half-Indian, which she was not.
The makers of The Verdict decided to cast a foreigner to keep everything real.
I’m very grateful to (producer) Ekta Kapoor for believing that I would pull off this role.
You have done a lot of item numbers in the movies. Was that tough for you?
Nothing was tough.
I have loved the songs and the concept.
I never had any costume-related issues, where I was forced to wear something uncomfortable.
I have enjoyed doing item numbers because I love dance.
If you do something with grace, that will show on screen, and it will not come out sleazy and shameful.
You were a Bollywood buff in your childhood days.
Yes. I had found a Bollywood DVD store in Sweden and would buy DVDs.
I used to sit in my room and watch Hindi movies on my tiny little TV.
Whenever a song was being played in the movie, I used to love dancing to it.
Which movies and songs did you watch?
Devdas and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham were my favourites.
My favourite songs were Dola Re Dola and Silsila Ye Chahat Ka from Devdas.
You did not have a godfather in the film industry but still, you made your journey from television to films. Now you have a central role in a Web series. How tough was the struggle?
Of course it was a tough journey with a lot of struggle.
There were times when I thought of quitting but I have always believed in my talent.
I would keep telling myself that I am hard working, honest to my work, dedicated and sincere.
I have faith in God that good projects will come to me.
To be honest, The Verdict came to me at a point when I was feeling down in my career.
So when it came, I was really excited because it’s a dream project.
And when the shoot got over, suddenly, I got two auditions for other projects.
It’s true that when you come to a point when you’re almost giving up, you should surrender to God or the Universe. Then everything will come to you.
What next?
I will be seen in Inside Edge 2 for Amazon Prime Video.
After that, I will be doing a south movie and a Bollywood movie.
