Her Kollywood debut, ‘Madrasapattinam’, was a commercial success and was well received by critics. Since then, British national, Amy Jackson, has moved to Bollywood, facing the inevitable comparison with Katrina Kaif.
In her Bollywood debut, ‘Ek Deewana Tha’, a remake of Tamil hit, ‘Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa’ (2010), Jackson stars opposite Prateik. Launching headlong into a topic the media is obsessed with, the 20-year-old begins by saying she is not in a relationship with Prateik. More from the blue-eyed actress.
I play a Malayali Christian girl in ‘Ek Deewana Tha’. We have shot the movie in New York, India, Kerala and Chennai over five months. It was a great experience working with such a young and talented actor like Prateik. The rumours of me dating Prateik are false and baseless. He is a good friend and he was a good influence on the sets. One of my friends from Britain came on the sets of our movie in Chennai. Prateik playfully sprinkled water on her and we had a lot of fun.
Tamil is more difficult than Hindi. Though my voice will be dubbed in the movie, it was easier to memorize Hindi than Tamil. Before takes, I used to practice my lines for almost an hour to get it right. Prateik did help me with Hindi.
I met Gautham Menon through director A L Vijay (‘Madrasapattinam’). It was after the release of ‘Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa’ (2010). I feel more comfortable in saris than gowns. Unlike ‘Madrasapattinam’ where I wear gowns, in ‘Ek Deewana Tha’, I wear saris and kurtas. I had never worn one before I started shooting for the film and believe it’s the most elegant outfit for a woman.
I was new to acting before my role in ‘Madrasapattinam’. Though 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 went 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.
‘Ek Deewana Tha’ is scheduled to release on January 13, 2012.