Meet Preeti Jain, she wants to see herself at the top

But her move to drag one of Bollywood’s acclaimed directors to court has surprised many, including Jain herself. ‘‘I was a very mellow person,’’ Jain exclaims. ‘‘Honestly, I am surprised I managed to do what I did.’’

Born in Egypt, Jain completed her schooling from a Karachi-based institution ‘affiliated’ to the University of Cambridge, UK. She graduated in English (Hons) from Sri Venkateswara College, New Delhi and went on to acquire a diploma in software engineering. After travelling to Paris, Geneva, Belgium and Karachi, she came to Mumbai five and a half years ago to get into films.

Director B.R. Ishara, who directed Jain in his film Bikaoo remembers first meeting her in 2000. ‘‘She was not outstanding but worked very hard,’’ Ishara recollects. Ishara says he cast her because he was looking for ‘an ordinary-looking girl from a lower middle class family’ and Jain fit the bill.

The actress lost her mother recently. She now lives with her father in a small apartment in the upper-middle class locality of Versova. An old music system with cassettes piled up alongside, idols of Lord Ganesha and a small picture of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar stand out in the sparsely-furnished flat. ‘‘I am a very religious person,’’ Jain says. ‘‘I perform puja every day, visit the Siddhivinayak temple every Tuesday.”

Ashok Tyagi, director of Bharat Bhagya Vidhata, who first met Preeti three years ago, says he has a positive image of Jain. ‘‘She is photogenic, intelligent, with a good sense of humour,’’ Tyagi says.

Jain insists she is still fascinated with Bollywood. ‘‘There are a few black sheep,’’ she rues. ‘‘Otherwise the industry is fantastic. And I want to see myself right at the top.’’