Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; December 22, 2019)

Model-actress Giorgia Andriani has made Mumbai her home. She loves everything from the rickshaw rides to the masala chai here. She came into the limelight after she was spotted with Arbaaz Khan two years ago. As she gears up for her film debut, Giorgia talks about prepping up for Bollywood, her relationship with Arbaaz Khan and the rapport she shares with his son Arhaan. Excerpts:

You are an Italian who’s trying to make an entry into Bollywood. Are Hindi films popular there? How did you get hooked onto it?
I left Italy when I was 18 years old, after which I moved to Germany and then to Spain and later to London. In the UK, I studied filmmaking and started working as a model. It is during my stay in London that I got acquainted with Bollywood. During my studies, I also worked as a part-time line producer. I worked on a couple of English and Hindi projects. Unlike Italy or the other cities where I lived in, London had a good audience for Hindi films. I made friends there who used to make me watch these films. Later, when I worked on Guest Iin London (as a line producer), I got mesmerised by the Indian culture. The team used to begin each day with a puja. I had never seen anything like this before. I got to work with Kartik Aaryan, Paresh Rawal and even Sanjay Mishra. Interestingly, Sanjay Mishra is also a part of my debut Bollywood movie, Welcome To Bajrangpur. He remembered me when we met on the sets of the film.

How are you prepping for your Bollywood debut?
I came to Mumbai two-and-a-half years ago. Initially, I was into modelling, after which, I started approaching people for movies, and all they said was, ‘Uh, who are you?’ It was a lot of hard work. I am happy that finally, I found myself a launchpad with Welcome To Bajrangpur. I am learning to speak Hindi. I started taking language lessons from the time I landed in Mumbai. I have also done acting courses and am learning Kathak.

When did you meet Arbaaz?
We met at a common friend’s housewarming party. We didn’t know each other at all. We had a long chat at the party, and from there on, we became good friends.

What do you like best about Arbaaz?
It’s his positivity that keeps me going. He keeps me balanced. I live in my fairytale world while he lives in reality and gets me back to the real world (laughs). I like his laughter. It’s his humour that binds us together. We have a lot of fun all the time; we are always laughing and cracking jokes.

Arbaaz comes from a film family and is a filmmaker himself. Does he help you with your career decisions?
I talk to him about how things work over here and what makes a film click. Watching Bollywood classics has always been a passion and Arbaaz has shown me a number of films. I feel I have learnt more about acting now.

The Khans (Arbaaz’s family) are one big happy family. Have they welcomed you with open arms?
They are lovely people and I love spending time with them.