After representing Perth as a finalist for a beauty pageant, Alisha Farrer made her way to Indian television and also bagged the couple of films in Bollywood. In a chat with DC, Alisha reveals about her not so smooth journey to Hindi film industry and more.

As you are from a non-film background, how difficult was it for you to make it to Bollywood?
Back home, things were very systematic, your agency get calls and they send you for auditions and you get paid for your hard work. I had lot of trouble in running here and there in India. Out here it is very unprofessional and they also don’t pay on time. I still consider myself lucky as I kept getting films and TV shows back-to-back. I landed in India and within a week I got ‘Hotel Beautifool’.

Do you think casting couch happens in Bollywood and have you ever faced it?
Yes, I do believe in it. Couple of months back, I got a call from one of the casting director. I got few lines and then I had to perform a dance. Later, the producer of the film called me and told me that he liked my work but I need to sleep with him, I was shocked and turned down the offer. I told him that my family background doesn’t allow me to do all this.

Can you name him?
It would not be good to reveal his name. He is very renowned producer- director. I don’t want to get surrounded by any kind of controversies.

How did you get Vikram Bhatt’s ‘Love Games’?
The casting team of the film called me over for an audition. Later, Vikram saw my tape and liked my audition. I got a call from them a little later but honestly, I wasn’t expecting a great role. I thought they would consider me for a small role but I got to know that I have a big role.

Who inspired you from the Hindi film industry to enter Indian cinema?
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has so much grace and perfection. She inspired me so much to act in films. Katrina Kaif and Nargis Fakshri too inspired me since they both hailed from abroad and made their mark in Bollywood.

Do you think winning beauty pageant made your way little easier to enter Bollwyood?
No, I don’t think so. Beauty pageant is just a platform. It gives exposure but it’s about your hard work you do and luck.

Of late, Nani is emerging as a power house performer and winning accolades of both class and mass audiences alike. His biggest blockbuster has come in the form of Bhale Bhale Magadivoyi recently. What stunned anyone is the way his films got nominated for the upcoming IIFA-South awards.

Celebrating the first ever IIFA Utsav 2015, the awards committee has nominated five films under the “Best Film” category. Naturally, this year’s biggies Baahubali and Srimanthudu got a nomination in the list. And then there are three other films of which two belong to hero Nani.

Though commercially not a successful film, Patashaala got a nomination while Nani’s blockbuster hit Bhale Bhale Magadivoyi and thought provoking movie Yevade Subramanyam have joined the list. It’s stunning that a hero is giving competition to 2015’s biggies with not just one but two movies.

Apparently the winners will be picked not by the jury alone but basing the votes polled on the IIFA website and also through SMSes received to a special number. We’ve to see if Nani will come up as a surprising winner at the end.

Yesterday Tollywood saw a horde of films hitting the cinemas. Out of them, three movies have released amidst huge hype, including Kamal Haasan’s Cheekati Rajyam, Sukumar’s Kumari 21F and James Bond flick Spectre. Other small releases are Chiru Godavalu and Okkaditho have also hit cinemas. Surprisingly there is only one film that is dominating the total bunch.

Kamal’s narcotics officer role and the way he deals with a gang in a night has won critical appreciation but audiences are not much excited about it. So, Cheekati Rajyam may find limited crowds at box office. Highly hyped James Bond movie Spectre isn’t appealing like the previous bond film Skyfall. Many Bond fans are disappointed with this intelligent story while they are expecting guns, gadgets girls and thrill from it.

And then, whether someone calls it adult content or some say artistic new-age stuff, Sukumar’s story Kumari 21 F made huge impact at theatres. The film has unprecedented love being showered by youths as the content struck them on hearts. Kumari is going to lead the pack at box office without any opposition until movies like Size Zero and Thanu Nenu arrive next Friday to prove their mettle.

Meanwhile small films like Chiru Godavalu and Okkaditho are not even heard about their talk, and their limited release is not going to create any impact in front of Kumari 21 F. That’s the story folks.

Director Puri Jagannadh has mastered the art of launching the careers of new and upcoming heroes by creating them a certain style or body language. No wonder than that he has been inundated with offers by producers and politicians to launch the careers of their sons. Smart filmmaker that he is, Puri Jagannadh is lapping up of all the big offers from producers and politicians as he would be receiving insane amounts of money in the form remuneration.

Recently he signed to launch two new heroes – Ishan, son of producer C R Manohar’s brother. Titled Rogue, he has already started working on the movie. Next he is also committed to launch Nikhil Gowda, grandson of former Prime Minister Deva Gowda, as hero in Kannada films. For these movies, he reportedly taking home the remuneration of more than Rs 30 Cr. He is currently getting remuneration of Rs 8 Cr per film in Tollywood but he is charging such hefty price for these two movies as they debut vehicles of rich persons.

The Mumbai police yesterday arrested a self-styled godman named Baba Devendra for allegedly cheating Bollywood actress Shil​p​a Shetty’s father Surendra Shetty of 2 crore promising him of opening a herbal products company and Yoga ashram.

The arrest was following a complaint filed by Surendra Shetty, a staunch devotee of Baba Devendra, at Andheri Police Station alleging that Devendra had duped him of 2 crore after promising him of opening a Yogpeeth similar to that of Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali yogpeeth and herbal products company.

The complaint was lodged in September ever since the Baba fled from the city after getting the money. Devendra earlier worked in Ramdev’s Yogpeeth in Haridwar for several years after which he started out on his own and earned a huge reputation and following among several leading celebrities.

Tollywood’s angry young man Gopichand is known for his sentiment in naming his films with letters ending with the Telugu phonetic ‘am’. Good luck started kissing Gopichand ever since Teja’s Jayam turned a huge hit. Gopi then followed it up with Varsham, which was again a huge blockbuster.

The title sentiment only grew stronger with a series of hits like Yagnam, Ranam, Lakshyam, Souryam and the recent hit Loukyam. Even the unsuccessful films like Andhrudu, Okkadunnadu, Mogudu, Wanted etc added the sentiment, pushing Gopichand to stick to the titles with ‘am’ sound in the end.

As per the latest buzz, Gopichand’s next film after he completes Soukhyam has been titled Balam, following the sentiment. However, it is not yet confirmed whether Balam will be the title for his next film under senior producer AM Ratnam’s son Jyothi Krishna’s direction or some other director.

Actor Farhan Akhtar says he chose to opt out of Shah Rukh Khan’s forthcoming “Raees” as he did not want to play a police officer again. The 41-year-old “Dil Dhadakne Do” star will be seen as an ATS officer in Bejoy Nambiar’s “Wazir”, which also stars Amitabh Bachchan. When asked if playing the role of a cop again was the reason why he did not do “Raees”, Farhan said, “Yes, absolutely right. Raees was supposed to happen at a very different time. It was not about not wanting to play a police officer in it, it was about not wanting to do it immediately. So it would’ve been the next thing I would have shot for (after Wazir),” he told reporters. The actor was speaking at the trailer launch of “Wazir“. Farhan, who is co-producing “Raees” through his banner Excel Entertainment, said he was a bit “uncomfortable” to play a similar character but is happy actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is doing the part now.

“I was a bit uncomfortable with that. The two are completely different projects but more or less you’re playing the same kind of character. The foundation is the same so I didn’t want to do it. But it’s fantastic because we have Nawazuddin who is playing that character, he is a fantastic actor.” Farhan also said that currently he has no plans to make “Don 3“. “No plans yet. I’ve always maintained I have enjoyed writing that character.. he is a very exciting character to write for and I had a tremendous time working with Shah Rukh. Hopefully something will come along. But I really don’t have a plan.”

The actor, however, did not divulge any details regarding the cast. “I don’t have a script so its very difficult for me to tell you who will be in it. Don will definitely be in it. Apart from that it depends on what characters are there in the film.”

Mumbai: Armaan Jain who made his acting debut in Aarif Ali’s Lekar Hum Deewana Dil is taking acting workshops from casting director Mukesh Chhabra. The actor feels that he was very young when he made his debut and taking acting workshops has enriched him as an actor and as a person.“I am taking acting workshops from Mukesh sir. He has taught acting for so many years and he is a brilliant guy. He used to take acting classes before he became a casting director. He is very positive and helps you grow. We experiment with different methods of acting and it’s great,” says Armaan.

Talking about his debut he says, “I was very young when I started. I don’t regret anything I did but life is all about learning. The more you do, the more you learn. I have taken several workshops in Delhi also for theatre. Workshops really helped me.”
So has he signed something new? “I am looking at a couple of scripts, certain things are looking good. Fingers crossed.”

Meanwhile his tutor Mukesh said, “Armaan is a nice guy and eager to learn everything. Now when he will face the camera, he will be more prepared.”