Hyderabad
May 7, 2008

Looks like Bengal is the new found place for Tollywood to import heroines after Mumbai and Kerala. After Kamalinee Mukherjee, made a mark of herself with splendid performances in films like Anand and Godavari, another Bengali girl all set to make her debut in Telugu film industry. Meghha Burman is the heroine of Hari Yelleti's debut film 'Ankit Pallavi and Friends...'. Idlebrain.com caught up with Meghha for a chitchat. Here are the excerpts –

Tell us about your background?
I was born and brought up in Kolkota. I studied till 10th class there before shifting to Bangalore for my intermediate. Later I moved to Mumbai and completed by bachelor degree is mass media and communication. After the graduation I got an opportunity to act in Bru commercials. Later commercials like Motarola, Sony Cybershot etc came on way.

During that time Hari (director) and Malini (cinematographer) were scouting for a heroine for their film in Mumbai. I met them and gave a 45-minute audition. And I got selected.

Was Telugu language a problem for you?
I had to work very hard to remember the lines. The crewmembers were very helpful. Telugu is a sweet language though I had difficulty in getting the diction/accent correct.

How difficult is acting in films comparing to act in commercials?
It is a different game all together. In advertisements, they have lots of shots done in different angles. Where as in films, we have continuous shots where we have to hold emotions. Advertisements do not test you as an actor. I learnt a lot about acting while working for APF film.

Tell us about the Pallavi character?
Pallavi is today's girl. Lots of girls can relate to her. She is a career oriented and serious about life. She is disciplined. To know more, you must watch the movie.

Tell us about APF film?
This film is not just about Ankith and Pallavi. It is also about their friends. At the end of the day, what people want is to be happy. APF is about finding that happiness. There is a cute love story between Ankith and Pallavi. APF is a young film with lot of hard work. There are good songs in the film. I had lots of fun dancing for friendship song (4 boys and me) in the film. APF is going to be a great movie.

How is Hari as a director?
He is a wonderful director. It was good fun to work with him. I had been naughty on the sets too. He would get angry – which is completely justifiable – when I could not get the lengthy dialogues right at times.

What about your co-artist Nikhil?
He is a great co-star to work with. He encouraged right from the day one. He used to give me tips about acting. He has lots of positive energy. That energy used to rub on me.

What are your hobbies?
I used to ride horses when I was a kid. My hobbies at present are watching plays, watching world cinema, playing squash and reading a lot of books.

What are your favorite movies?
My fascination for movies started when I was doing my bachelors degree. Since it is a mass media course, I was asked to watch world cinema and analyze it. My favorite films are Cinema Paradiso, City of God, Amores Perros and Amélie. I am also a big fan of Satyajit Ray and Quentin Tarantino.

What are your favorite books?
The book which I finished just now is Shantaram. It is a wonderful book. Mira Nair is making this book into a film with Johnny Depp doing the title role. I love all books of Harry Potter series. I was so much influenced by John Grisham books that I wanted to become a lawyer after reading those books.

What are your future aspirations?
Someday, I will go into filmmaking as a director or a producer. If APF did not happen to me, I would have been doing a course on filmmaking abroad.

What is your next project after APF?
I want to see how people respond to me. I am very much excited for the film release though I am little nervous. I hope that people like my performances.

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