The first time I faced the camera was for the Telugu film Devadasu. I was 17 and had only done a few commercials till then which had got me noticed. I gave my nod to the rom-com because I was engaged by the story of a rich NRI girl coming down to India to learn Carnatic music and falling in love with a poor boy here, only for her father, a senator in New York, taking her back to the US in a ploy to separate the two. They were going to shoot in the US for 45 days which also made it fun for me.

My first shot was a fairly simple one; I was supposed to rattle off a few lines, quizzing a guy on what he was doing. I remember it distinctly because of what happened next. Since it was a Telugu film, I had mugged my lines and was all set to deliver them on camera when suddenly the director shouted “Action” and someone banged a clapboard directly in front of my face. And I freaked out! Unfamiliar to the ways of filmmaking, I thought it was a mean prank the clapper boy had pulled to disconcert me because I was a debutante. For a while everyone wondered what had gone wrong, then, they explained to me that this was a part of the process and used to identify scenes while editing. It was a learning experience.

My Bollywood debut came six years later, with Barfi! in 2012. Anurag’s (director Anurag Basu) wife, Tani, knew my manager and I happened to be in Mumbai at the time. We met and Anurag gave me a one-line narration. Then, we spoke for half-an-hour on various topics. By the end of the meeting, he told me that he had found his Shruti but since I seemed unsure, he told me he would wait for my reply. I gave it some serious thought and realised Barfi! was very unusual for a Hindi film despite having mainstream actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, and that I might never get a film like it again. So, I accepted the offer, but I am a Goan girl and wasn’t entirely convinced about being able to pull off the part of a Bengali woman from the ‘70s despite Anurag’s conviction that I was perfect for the role.

My first shot for this film was the one on the train, where Ranbir’s Barfi sees me for the first time. It was once again a simple shot, but despite having done many films down South and now familiar with the craft, I was nervous and scared. It was like starting from scratch all over again. There was a subtlety to the character and no dialogue! Anurag hadn’t even let me learn sign language and I was completely lost. But that’s what made the performance natural and organic, which I realised only later.

Devadasu bagged me the Filmfare South Award for Best Debut (Female). For Barfi!, I was nominated in two categories, Best Supporting Actor (Female) and Best Debut (Female). I took the Black Lady home again for the latter, so for all my naivety and apprehensions, both my first films won me lots of accolades and appreciation.