BOMBAY DREAMS

Who: This Welsh graduate in radiology from the University of Hertfordshire began modeling at 13. After modelling for brands like Elizabeth Arden,TIGI Bed Head and Leekes,Liza Lazarus took part in a slew of beauty pageants. She was crowned Miss Bikini Great Britain 2006 at Model of the World competition in Tanzania.
Bollywood beckons: After acting on stage,television and commercials,Lazarus wanted to “experiment” with Bollywood. Her agency told her about auditions for Veer in London,which she appeared for and got selected. Lazarus had a “basic knowledge” of Hindi films and loved the costumes and dances. “I have always closely followed Bollywood dance,” she says.
On the sets: Lazarus plays the love interest of Salman Khan in Veer. “In this period film set in British India,I play a girl who comes to India with her father and falls in love with Salman,” she says. She is clearly in awe of her mentor,with whom she a “great working relationship”. “Salman took me under his wings. I’v been lucky to learn from the best,” she says. Lazarus also got the time to do the tourist circuit when Veer’s shooting was interrupted in February. “Veer has been a roller-coaster. We have had a few hiccups with schedules but it has meant that I got days off to visit tourist attractions.”
Hobbies: Golf,horse-riding and “girls’ night out”.
Favourite Bollywood movie: Hasn’t watched enough to have any yet.
The way ahead: Lazarus wants to continue studying radiology. For now,she is focusing on films. She was in Los Angeles recently,meeting producers for possible roles in Hollywood. But she wants to stay in India till she can “build a suitable portfolio of work”. She has signed up for the lead role in another period film,Madrassa Pattinam,made in Tamil by Vijay Anand.

FLORENCE BRUDENELL BRUCE,23,British
Film: Love Aaj Kal
As Saif Ali Khan’s Swiss girlfriend in Love Aaj Kal,she grabbed eyeballs.

Who: Born to a French mother and an English wine-maker father,Florence (or Flee as she is better known) has been modelling since she was 16. Besides campaigning for Adidas and John Lewis,she has studied art history at Bristol University. She was also in the news for her relationship with Formula One speedster Jenson Button,which ended in February 2008.
Bollywood beckons: Flee studied acting at the Royal Academy of Drama and Art in London in 2007. In April 2008,Imtiaz Ali was in London,holding walk-in auditions for the Swiss girlfriend’s part in his film. “After the audition,I felt a good vibe,” she says. The day after she bagged the role,she bought a DVD of Jab We Met and watched it several times.
On the sets: She first met Saif Ali Khan when the song Twist and shout was being shot at Café De Paris,London,in June last year. “We have common friends from London. He went to school there,so we had a lot to talk about,” she says. Flee,who learnt ballet in school,didn’t find Indian dance difficult. When shooting shifted to Mumbai last October,Flee was the only foreign girl on the sets. “I would draw stares from passers-by,without understanding what they’d mutter,” she says. Soon,she started enjoying the change in culture. When she accompanied Imtiaz to a Sikh’s house,she had to remove her shoes,a “new” experience for her. She also caught on to eating without a knife and fork. “I loved eating the Peshawari naan at Bukhara in Maurya,Delhi,with my fingers,” she says.
Favourite Bollywood movie: Om Shanti Om and Jab We Met.
Hobbies: Art history. “Whenever I can,I attend auctions at Sotheby’s and Christies.”
The way ahead: As she settles down in her new flat in Notting Hill,she is also working on her new film,which is “not Bollywood.” But,she says,“If anyone wants a blonde girl,I will return.”

Giselli Monteiro,20,Brazilian
Film: Love Aaj Kal
As a coy sardarni of the 1960s in Love Aaj Kal,Giselli Monteiro spoke only two dialogues in the film but outside it,she’s got everyone talking about her.

Who: A model since she was 17,Monteiro has walked the ramp in Greece,Paris,Milan,Hong Kong and Thailand. To add India to that list,she came to Mumbai in February last year from her home in Espirito Santo,Brazil. “A model friend from Brazil who works here said my Indian looks would help me,” she says.
Bollywood beckons: Monteiro had no clue who Imtiaz Ali,director of Love Aaj Kal,was. When she bumped into him at the office of Vogue India magazine and he asked her to audition for his film,she “had no idea what that meant”. But Monteiro,who did not know how to speak Hindi,agreed because it was “a challenge”.
On the sets: Acting was “the most difficult thing” Monteiro’s ever done. On the sets,she would observe other actors and would desperately mug up her lines,which later got dubbed. Not used to the jhatkas and matkas that every Bollywood actress does,Monteiro struggled with dancing. “The choreographer would change the steps all the time,” she says.
Favourite Bollywood movie: Ali advised her to watch a Hindi film daily as homework to play the character,Harleen Kaur. “Since I was playing a shy girl,I watched films from the 1960s starring Sharmila Tagore. I liked Kashmir Ki Kali and An Evening in Paris.”
Hobbies: Cooking Brazilian food and yoga.
The way ahead: She’s got “a few offers” for which she’s taking Hindi classes and plans to take dancing and acting classes too. What about modelling,the reason why she came to India? “I am not saying goodbye to it yet,” she says.

JACQUELINE FERNANDES,24,Sri Lankan
Films: Aladdin,Jaane Kahaan Se Aaye Hain (yet to be released)
Before this Sri Lankan beauty “gets to Hollywood”,she is making the most of Bollywood

Who: This Miss Sri Lanka 2006 was born and raised in Bahrain,after her parents moved out of war-torn Sri Lanka. After graduating in media and communications from the University of Sydney,she returned to Sri Lanka in 2004 to work with an NGO rehabilitating families affected by the tsunami. She has also been a television anchor in her hometown,Colombo.
Bollywood beckons: After television and social service,Fernandes kicked off what she always wanted to do—acting. As she was “planning to go to LA to try my luck in Hollywood,” Bollywood came as a “pleasant” distraction. While she was in Mumbai for a modelling assignment,her agent told her about an audition for the role of a foreign college student in a film. “I was so excited that I walked in,wearing slippers and glasses,” she says. That didn’t stop her from being selected for a role opposite Ritesh Deshmukh in Sujoy Ghosh’s Alladin which also stars Amitabh Bachchan and is releasing in December.
On the sets: In between and after shoots,Fernandes talks with spot boys and make-up artists to improve her spoken Hindi. She also talks to her driver while travelling between studios to polish the language.
Favourite Bollywood movie: A Wednesday and Dev.D
Hobbies: Scuba-diving,cooking and partying.
The way ahead: Though Alladin is still under production for almost two years now,Fernandes has finished shooting Nikhil Advani’s Jaane Kahaan Se Aaye Hain,again with Deshmukh. “I am getting what I wanted from Bollywood,” she says. But since LA is her final stop,she sees herself “acting in a Hollywood production soon”.

CLAUDIA CIESLA,22,German
Film: Karma: Crime,Passion and Reincarnation
After playing a ghost in her debut film,Ciesla plans to buy a flat in India

Who she is: Claudia Ciesla,of Munich,Germany,has been modeling since the age of 15. After appearing on the cover of renowned German lifestyle magazine,Matador in 2005,she modeled for soccer campaigns and walked the ramp in Greece,France,Israel and Italy. But modeling was only an “interesting pastime” and a way to get into acting. So,she started acting in commercials and sitcoms. She is also doing a masters in economics.
Bollywood beckons: After a chance encounter with producer Vivek Singhania in 2006 in Munich,where he was shooting for Aap Ka Suroor,Ciesla added him on Facebook. Two years later,he offered her a role in Karma: Crime,Passion and Reincarnation,that had her pack her bags for Ooty,the location of the shoot,in January last year. She is also the ambassador for Khushi,an NGO for underprivileged children.
On the sets: Ciesla enjoys the “close-knit units”Bollywood sets are. “In Germany,everyone packs up after eight hours of shooting. But here,it’s one big family,” she says.
Favourite Bollywood movie: Om Shanti Om
Hobbies: Belly dancing,playing the flute.
The way ahead: Despite Karma… flopping,Ciesla is planning to buy a flat in Mumbai or Delhi because acting in Bollywood is her “long-term” goal. She started her Hindi classes this month and though she has some offers,she “doesn’t want to work with just any director.”