South Indian Actors Childhood Photos

Amrita rao makes Tollywood debut in Athithi

An excited Amrita Rao is keeping her fingers crossed for the release of her first Telugu film Atithi where she plays a college girl living life on her terms. The actress says when director Surender Reddy approached her for the film, she couldn't say no as she was getting the opportunity to be in a film where the heroine's role was as significant as the hero's part. This is not common, according to her, in the otherwise male dominated Telugu film industry. Another reason for saying yes could be that it was her leading man Mahesh Babu's sister Manjula who introduced the actress to people from the industry. But Amrita claims, "I saw Mahesh's films even before I ventured into Tollywood and I was impressed with his acting skills."

For someone who doesn't understand Telugu, it must have been a tough job to impress her co-star and director? "Though I could not understand Telugu and was a little apprehensive about this, my co-actors and director made sure that I understood every sentence I uttered before the camera. I used to sit down with the assistant directors and get my pronunciation right," she says.

Actresses who are a flop in Bollywood usually land up in the South Indian film industry and often get very popular here. What were Amrita's reasons for doing regional cinema when she still has offers from Bollywood in her kitty? "It's destiny because this film was offered to me when all my other projects had been postponed. I am getting many offers from Tollywood now and I'll be happy to work for another project," she says. Amrita was in town for nearly two months while shooting for Atithi and says she has taken a liking to the city and enjoys eating curd rice with a spicy tadka.

Does this mean she loves working here and has no complaints? "The only difference between Bollywood and Telugu films is that here, I had early morning calls for shooting everyday. By the end of the day I used to be really tired."

The actress doesn't find much difference between SRK who is the king of Bollywood and Mahesh Babu, as Mahesh too finishes his shot in a single take, just like SRK.

It's a good thing she likes the city as she is back shooting for Shyam Benegal's next movie.

Malaika Arora and Mahesh Babu to sizzle in song

Malaika Arora Khan, the lady who has jazzed up quite a few Hindi films by dancing with top heroes is now pairing up with Mahesh Babu for an item number in his upcoming movie. Mahesh's wife Namrata Shirodkar approached Malaika for a guest appearance in her hubby's film and Malaika instantly obliged. "I know Namrata from our modelling and Mumbai days. She made me listen to the song and I loved its beats. In fact I told her that this song will be a hit even in a Hindi film."

While Namrata has always been a friend, this is the first time Malaika met Mahesh Babu. Her shooting schedule with him is very hectic and she is ready to crash when they are done for the day. During breaks or when she is getting bored she calls Namrata and tells her to come on sets. "Namrata makes sure I am well looked after and when I am bored I call her and tell her to come and give me company." But Namrata isn't the only one she is hanging out with. "I bumped into Tabu at my hotel so I catch up with her too," she says.

Between shooting for songs, doing shows, being a mother and a wife are there times where she feels bogged down and wants to do nothing? "Yes, of course I do find it difficult but I love my work. Women are born multi-taskers and all women should be proud of this fact," she answers adding that family time and her personal space are sacred to her. "I keep taking time off often. After I finish shooting for this song I plan to go on holiday with my family." Work takes her to lots of exotic locales and there she takes time off for herself as she otherwise always travels with her family.

Work also ensures that she remains fit with all the dancing they make her do she jokes. Apart from that good genes and regular workouts ensure she has one of the fittest bodies in town.

Her figure makes many envious, but the rock steady marriage she has is what many women dream of having, especially in the glamour world. When asked how she works on her marriage she confesses that most of the credit goes to her husband Arbaaz Khan. "Arbaaz is a very stable person. A marriage is about two people and every relationship has its ups and downs. You should look beyond all that and the superficial stuff. We let each other be and don't impose restrictions on the other partner. It's important that you respect your partner."

As she opens up about her family the conversation leads towards brother-in-law Salman Khan. When asked how different is the Salman she knows, from the image of his that is portrayed in public she says, "He is chilled out and is a great son, brother and uncle. He loves having family and friends around. Media takes great pleasure in por traying him as a bad boy, maybe because he is not apologetic about what he is and has a care-a damn-attitude." The Khan family surely believes in being fiercely loyal to their members. And bahu Malaika is no exception.