FLUENT IN HINDI, ELLI IS NOW KEEN TO EXPLORE MORE
The actor says if a script excites her, everything else, including the language becomes secondary
It was in 2013 when Elli AvrRam, a Swedish Greek actor, appeared on Indian reality show, Bigg Boss, and won hearts of Indian audiences with her half-baked Hindi and an innocent yet funny accent. The same year, she also debuted in Bollywood with Mickey Virus opposite actor Maniesh Paul.
Asked if she has become fluent in Hindi now, Elli excitedly shares, “Yes, I have learned all of it properly. When I came to India, I only knew basic Hindi like ‘Namaste, Mera naam Elli hai’. But when I did Kis Kisko Pyaar Karun (2015), I used to communicate with the cast and crew in Hindi. However, a lot of people still think that I can’t converse in the language but come on, it’s been five years that I have been living here, so I had to learn it.”
Elli gradually picked up on the language but was it ever a barrier in getting work in Bollywood or TV? “No, not really! I got Mickey Virus quite easily. I gave the audition; there were four pages that I had to deliver in Hindi. My acting was terrible at that time. But I very confidently told the director that I know I can improve [my diction] and the only thing I had requested them for was a Hindi teacher who can teach me my dialogues and explain the emotions of the character to me. Since they loved my expressions in the auditions, they gave me a Hindi teacher and ever since then I have been on it.”
A a lot of people still think that I can’t converse in Hindi. But come on, it’s been five years that I have been living here, so I had to learn it.
ELLI AVRRAM ACTOR
Presently, Elli has her hands full. She is shooting for two films back to back — Tamil and Kannada remakes of Kangana Ranaut’s 2013 movie, Queen. Talking about if the switch from Bollywood to south Indian film industry was a conscious choice, Elli says that she has a passion for languages. She adds, “A different language, for me, is like something exotic. I’m open to working in different languages. You get to experience so many different cultures and countries and if any other movie industry excites me, why would I mind working there?”
The actor adds that just because she started off with Hindi doesn’t mean that she can’t or is not keen to explore other language films. “Hindi is not my mother tongue [either], and now that I live in India, I am speaking different languages. So, working in Tamil and Kannada film is similar to when I started off in Hindi films. If the script excites me, everything else becomes secondary.”