Himarsha Venkatsamy all set for a ‘Roar’-ing debut in Bollywood

Launch vehicle
My first significant project in India was shooting for the Kingfisher Calendar. Since I have spent the major portion of my life in South Africa, I did not realise what a great platform the Kingfisher Calendar was at that time. For any top model, who aspires to make a career in Bollywood, this serves as a perfect platform. It got me this amazing project, Roar: Tigers of The Sunderbans.

Casting coup

As I said, I was spotted on the calender, and the makers asked me to come for a look test. I later did an audition for them. At the time it was so daunting, as I was given a seven page script in Hindi. I had never spoken Hindi before, and it was a tough task, but since I love challenges, I tackled it head-on. The director, Kamal Sadanah liked the natural take on Jhumpa, my character in the film and within a few days I signed my first lead role in a film.

Stepping stones

It has been an exciting journey. I studied drama and acting back in South Africa and modelled part time, while I was studying at a medical school. I guess my passion was always films, but I didn’t know it yet. I quickly became a top model and decided to pursue this internationally after completing my studies. I was directly roped for the Indian Fashion Week, and within a month was on the Kingfisher Calendar. I guess I fell in love with Bollywood and it’s charm after that.

First Shot

My first shot was terrifying. Kamal wanted to throw me in the deep end of the canal and see how hard I could swim. In my first scene, the hero, Abhinav Shukla, and I had to do a very emotional scene where we were swimming hard, to save our lives in the main canal of the Sunderbans. The current was so strong that it carried us five kilometer down stream. All the while we had to stay in character as they where shooting by Helicam and the main boat was about 200 meters away. At that time, I wasn’t aware that the waters were not only home to dolphins, but crocodiles and snakes as well.

The takeaway

Working in the film, has helped me tap into my inner strength. We shot in the jungles for six weeks and surviving in a hostile terrain with fear of the wildlife was an unnerving and a terrifying experience. But I loved every moment of it; struggling with the Hindi dialogues and doing my own stunts was worth every moment of it.

Stumbling block

Every day was a hurdle that we had to overcome. Clocks were turned back two hours, and we would wake up by 3 am. Shooting for the film has been both mentally and physically challenging. Running in the mud with snakes slithering near my feet, swimming in crocodile infested waters all the while knowing there’s no chance to mess up a scene due to time and light constraints. And above all that, I had to particularly concentrate on my dialogues too.

Role model

Not wanting to sound cliched, but my fearless, fierce loving mother and my charming, intelligent father shall always remain my role models for life. They have instilled sound values in me that shall stand me in good stead throughout my life.

Future projects

Currently, I’m working on an exciting project in which I play a Punjabi poet. It’s exciting to find interesting scripts and intense characters.