Hyderabad: Kristina Akheeva is the latest entrant into Tollywood. The actress, who made her Bollywood debut with Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, will be seen in the Telugu film Gaalipatam.
“I was born in Russia and was living in Australia. I was studying and acting in Melbourne. I have been passionate about acting since childhood. I started modeling and I got a contract from Singapore. With that I traveled to many countries,” says Kristina.
She arrived in Mumbai in 2010 on her modeling contract and spent a year there. During that time she auditioned for Yamala Pagla Deewana 2 and got an offer.
“I couldn’t speak Hindi at all. After I got the offer, I started learning the language,” she says, adding that it was an amazing experience working in Bollywood. “Finally I got the opportunity to act, which was my dream. It was great to work with Dharmendra, who is an icon in the Hindi film industry. The two brothers (Sunny and Bobby) are professional and are also very committed to their work,” she adds.
“After my Hindi film, the Telugu filmmaker Naveen Gandhi approached me. The script is very nice and it’s a different concept, so I agreed immediately,” says Kristina.
“It was a different experience as my Hindi film was shot for three months in the UK and for the Telugu film I came to Hyderabad for the shoot. I had a lot of fun while shooting this film.”
While Yamala was a comedy, the Telugu film was very different. “The character in the Telugu film was a challenge for me as I had to concentrate more on my acting skills, because it has a lot of heartbreaks, love and emotions,” adds Kristina.
“The language was a challenge. But before the shoot I worked on my scenes and I knew their meaning,” she says.
“It really doesn’t matter to me whether it’s the Hindi or Telugu industry. What’s important is the kind of films I am doing, the story line and working with interesting directors. I want to experiment with different kinds of films and genres,” she says about her future plans.
“I haven’t watched any Telugu films yet. But I am looking forward to doing more Telugu films,” she says, adding that she is confident that the audience will like the film.
