Kajal Agarwal is an addition to the growing list of actresses, who are born and brought up in Mumbai, but have made a successful career in South Indian cinema. She will be seen opposite Ajay Devgn in the upcoming action flick Singham . In an exclusive conversation with Gaurav Malani , she speaks about both, Bollywood and South cinema and how she wants all of her Telugu films to be remade in Hindi.
Wasn't (Ash-Vivek starer) Kyun Ho Gaya Na your debut film!
I did Kyun Ho Gaya Na when I was in the ninth grade! I was still a kid then. So I would consider Singham as my Hindi debut. At that time acting was never on my mind and education was a priority. I wanted to pursue MBA but I strongly believe in destiny, which I guess, had different plans for me.
After Telugu films, was Bollywood the next obvious step?
I never strategised my career as such. I never planned that I wanted to start in Hindi films after working in a certain number of Telugu films. I am lucky that things have been naturally falling into place so far.
Were Singham makers particularly looking for a South actress for this Tamil remake?
Not really! Rohit Shetty wanted a fresh face for the film but also with an acting background to her. They did not have time to teach anybody. When they saw my film Magadheera , which is a huge hit in South, they felt that I was perfect for the part in Singham .
Considering it's a male-dominated action flick, how much scope do you have?
There is also a sweet romantic story attached to Singham . Though I have a short role in Singham , it is an important part. I do not believe that the screen-space allotted to a character would define their acting ability. And I personally believe that even if the role is short, the impact that the character makes in that time is more important.
Ajay Devgn is known to be a prank-master. Did you fall prey of his jokes?
Ajay is a wonderful actor and pulled a prank on me on the first day itself. I was asked to scream for a scene and later I realized the camera wasn't rolling at all. But I think it was a nice way to break the ice.
What is that one thing you learn from Ajay Devgn?
The ability to get into the character once the scene rolls and cut-off from it when the director says cut. The ease with which he does that is remarkable.
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