Girl Power

Brazilian model,Bruna Abdalah Christofoli could have been one of the many white Bollywood back-up dancers struggling to make ends meet in a cubbyhole apartment in some Mumbai suburb,but she isn’t. She could also have been another Katrina Kaif,a Bollywood queen from firang land staking some obscure India connection,but she isn’t that either. Destiny chose the middle path for Bruna. “When I came to India from Brazil about three years ago for a holiday,I decided to stay on. Thankfully I managed to get myself attached to a proper agency who helped me get proper assignments,” says Bruna who was in the city along with co-participant,Rupali Ganguly,this Tuesday,to promote the show Khatron Ke Khiladi(KKK). With a host of modeling assignments and a few item numbers (her item number in Cash was much-appreciated),Bruna gained a steady foothold in tinsel town. “It’s very easy for white girls to get work here. The exotica factor always works but the problem is that there is no regulatory body here which can ensure that they are not exploited. Moreover,Indian girls lose out on opportunities because of them. There is a dire need for some sort of regulatory body,” says Bruna.

Since she has got herself a visa,Bruna can look forward to a career in films in India and also stints in shows like KKK. “It was wonderful working in the show. I thought I was game for anything but this show has challenged me like nothing ever has before,” says Bruna. Future lies down South for her. “I want a career in the Telugu film industry. They are so professional down there,” she says.

Meanwhile,her co-participant from Khatron Ke Khiladi,Rupali Ganguly seems nonchalant about future. “I have never planned anything. I will take things as they come,” says Rupali shifting in her sofa and adjusting the sprawl of her black satin dress. “Even a year ago you wouldn’t have caught me dead Niendra Dewan in a dress like this but the show has made me more confident. I was too much of a behenji for it” laughs Rupali who seems to be almost determined to live up to her Sarabhai vs Sarabhai image,where she plays a middle-class,gregarious and sloppy foil to Ratna Pathak Shah’s snooty socialite. “I am very much like the character from the television series. I’m as lazy as her and am an expert at bargaining,” she says. For Ganguly,brushing shoulders with Akshay Kumar during the show was not really that a big thing as she has an old connection with him. “He worked in one of my father’s (anil Ganguly) films when he was a struggling actor. I was kid then. Even after so many years,I was amazed to find his so grounded and sincere,” she says.

The show has helped her deal with a lot of her demons,claims Ganguly. “I was always afraid of creepy crawlies and after a point of time,in the show,I got used to them. But thanks to the show I also realised that I’m really scared of waterbodies,” she says.