AMY Jackson has made the journey from Colby to Chennai as she is about to experience the full feeling of Bollywood stardom with the release of a new movie next week.
The 20-year-old former Miss England finalist is starring in Ek Deewana Tha, a musical with a score penned by Oscar winner A. R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire).
It is being described as the ‘youth Bollywood love story of the year’ and gets a release next Friday.
Amy’s appearance follows a successful run in Tamil cinema with the film Madharaspattinam.
She will be starring opposite Bollywood heartthrob Prateik Babbar.
The Indian film industry is huge and Amy is about to discover how much of a star it will make her.
Ek Deewana Tha is the story of Sachin (Prateik Babbar), an engineer who has managed to complete his degree, but who is completely obsessed with the world of cinema and films. Hanging around at film sets, waiting outside directors’ offices and spending time with an assistant director-friend is what makes most of his days.
Sachin and his family shift to a temporary home in Juhu and it is in this new place, that he sees Malaysian Christian girl Jessie (Amy Jackson) for the first time. It is love at first-sight for Sachin and when he finds out that she lives in the house upstairs, he leaves no chance to watch her, catch her attention or generally try to make conversation with her.
Amy, who is also a professional model, was born in the island and lived in Colby until she was four, when her family moved to Liverpool.
Talking about the role, she said: ‘Alhough I was familiar with Bollywood since there are many in Britain who watch Hindi movies, I hadn’t watched any of these films before I came to Chennai.
‘I have been away from home since I was 17. I went to the US to start my modeling career at a very young age. So, venturing into films and handling the pressure isn’t a big task. I feel more comfortable in saris than gowns.’
She added: ‘I had no prior training in acting. Once Madharasapattinam released, we had a premiere in Liverpool for my friends and family. They were surprised to see me on screen. Many of my friends who are in university back in England find it tough to believe that I’m part of Indian cinema. Some of them think I am crazy.
‘For me, this has been a dream come true.’
Amy, who is already due to start shooting another Tamil film in March, had to memorise Hindi for Ek Deewana Tha, even though her voice is dubbed.
She said: ‘The British accent is hard to miss. Ever since I decided to shift base to India and made Mumbai my home, I have made an effort to learn Hindi and even took diction classes. I couldn’t understand a word of Hindi earlier.
‘Though my voice will be dubbed in the movie, it was easier to memorise Hindi than Tamil.
‘Before takes, I used to practise my lines for almost an hour to get it right. Prateik did help me with Hindi.’