From the day model turned actress Kristina Akheeva stepped in India, she has snapped up some A-list modeling projects has now bagged a leading role in the Deol’s upcoming film ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana 2’.
Russian born Kristina who moved to Australia at the age of seven and started modeling around five years ago and has travelled across the world.
Speaking about her newly found Bollywood dreams Kristina said:
“I am very excited. I have always wanted to act ever since I was a little kid so it’s not completely a surprise as it’s something I’ve always been working towards. I wasn’t sure if Bollywood was for me because it was very different to what I was used to. But in the span of one year I started to fall in love with it – especially the colours and the music”
She admits of being an ardent fan of Aishwarya Rai. She says, “I think she’s absolutely stunning and is the total package. I’ve seen a lot of her films.”
While her parents always pushed her to follow in the footsteps of other foreign beauties like Amy Jackson and Katrina Kaif, Kristina wasn’t entirely sure it was for her. But despite leaving India and heading to Thailand, work was still flooding in for her from the country.
She added: “While in Thailand I kept on booking work in India – it was always calling me back. In India they really appreciated my look and a lot of times I would get told you should get into Bollywood so I started to think about it. I decided to come back and give it another shot. I got asked to audition for the role and they liked me.”
In Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 she is playing the role of Reet and is paired opposite Sunny Deol. Her character is an intelligent, well-read girl with a good education and job. When asked if she identified with the character, Kristina said: “I’m actually happy that I’m playing this role because she is quite similar to me. Like her, I know what I want and have quite a strong personality – so we are similar in that respect.”
Kristina has a lot of support from the Deols. She said: “These guys have been in the industry for a very long time and they have a lot to teach me as I’m just starting out. I’m happy that I’m working with people who can guide me and who I can learn a few things from.”
While the ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana 2’ cast-crew is currently busy shooting the major portion of the film in Leicester (United Kingdom), Kristina on the other hand is facing a new challenge every day as the whole environment is new to her. However one of her biggest challenges is to learn Hindi. “I don’t speak Hindi very well yet but I’m learning and I do know the basics and obviously I’ve read the script. By the end of the film I’m hoping I’ll be a lot better,” she said.
