Jyotti Sethi’s here to stay

Hyderabad: Jyotti Sethi’s debut film Where is Vidya Balan has received praise from all quarters. Though this is her first Telugu film, the Punjabi girl tackled it like an experienced campaigner. “Before this film, I have done a Punjabi film and also acted in few commercials,” says Jyotti.

Though Jyotti hails from Chandigarh, the actress always had her eyes set on the South film industry. Director Srinivas Raga was looking for a fresh face for Where is Vidya Balan, when he received photographs of Jyotti Sethi. “I went for the audition for this film and was selected. I play a doctor in this crime thriller,” says Jyotti.

The actress was happy to work with this film as the director had earlier won the Nandi Award. “Once he narrated the story to me, my immediate thought was that the film isn’t going to be a flop. It will do well and I felt that if I am going in on a good note, then I can stay on,” she says.

“Now, I am concentrating on Telugu films. I signed my second film, but I can’t reveal anything about it as the producer will announce the details soon,” says the actress. “I look more like a girl from the South, so I thought that it works for here. I have an idea about South movies as I watch them on TV,” she says.

She agrees that language is a barrier, but not a difficult one. “Before the shooting started, they gave me the dialogues and I would write them in English. I ask the meaning of the words too. The only problem is that I don’t know what my co-actor is saying. So initially, I struggled a bit,” she says. “Every day of the shoot felt like going to school. This is a big task, but that’s how it goes on. You have to work hard in the beginning,” she says.

The actress is keen to settle here as well. “I know that the Telugu film industry is very big and everyone gets a chance here,” she says. When asked about why she doesn’t try Hindi films, Jyotti says, “I don’t want to act in B-grade Hindi films. If you act even in a small Hindi film, people call it “Bollywood” which I don’t want to do. If a proper Hindi film comes then I definitely will try. Otherwise, I try my best here.

“I am getting Punjabi offers and it’s not a big task for me as I come from Punjab. But I would like to try my best here in Tollywood, if I don’t get anything big, then I can easily go back to my native place,” says a confident Jyotti.