Anushka Sen’s long-standing love for K-dramas has now translated into a lead role in one. She has wrapped up Jeju Olle, a Korea-India romantic musical that makes her the first Indian actress to headline a South Korean film. She says, “When I saw my first K-drama, I absolutely fell in love with the way they show moments and create those K-drama moments. Since then, I’ve had a dream to be part of a project where I could play the lead and have my own K-drama moment, and Jeju Olle is that for me.”

The film also required Anushka to perform in Hindi, English and Korean, with singing in Korean adding to the challenge. She says, “For the first time, I’m performing in English and Korean, with a little bit of Hindi. I wanted to get my pronunciation right, so I learnt and practised every day during my three-month shoot because getting it right is about more than just the tone; it’s also about the emotion.”

Being the only Indian actor on a predominantly Korean set meant adapting to an unfamiliar working environment, but Anushka says she never felt like an outsider. “It was wonderful getting to know them and understanding their process. I realized that when you’re equally passionate, genuinely love art and want to do your best, it doesn’t matter where you come from. Everyone made sure I was comfortable, and I genuinely didn’t feel like I was a foreigner. It felt like another home, a home away from home.”

The response to her presence extended beyond the set, with members of the team and the Korean public curious about working with an Indian actor. Anushka recalls, “The team also appreciated my eyes, expressions and performance. For many of them, it was their first time working with an Indian actor, so they found my approach fresh and different. One of my favourite compliments in Korea is being told that my face is jumeok-manhada, or as small as a fist, and jinjja yeppeoyo, which means ‘really pretty’.”

The working style of her Korean co-actors also left an impression on her. She shares, “What I really loved about the Korean actors was their process. We were always on time, always on set, and everybody came fully prepared for the scene. At the same time, they were always ready to improvise and go with the flow. If I did something new that wasn’t in the script, Hyung-seok would immediately understand it and add something of his own. I think that requires great instinct and being a thorough professional.”

Her co-star Kang Hyung-seok and she initially communicated through a translator before gradually finding a common language. She says, “He’s such a professional, and I’m a huge fan of his work, especially his character in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. In the beginning, we would communicate through a translator, but eventually, he started learning English and I started understanding and speaking more Korean. I have such a beautiful bond with him. I learnt so much from him and genuinely had the best experience working with him.”

Anushka Sen is set for her Korean debut with the musical Jeju Olle this year, opposite Korean actor Kang Hyung-seok. Having admired his work for years, the actor calls the opportunity a “dream come true”. She says, “Every day I’d wake up wondering if I was still dreaming. I remember telling him on the very first day that I was a huge fan, but I also had to be a thorough professional and I worked really hard.”

In 2023, Sen became the honorary ambassador for Korea Tourism and now, the 23-year-old has become the first Indian artiste to debut in the Korean film industry. She cherishes the responsibility of representing India in Korea. “It’s not only about me doing my best, but also about representing my family, my people,” she says.

Sen credits her mum for letting her love for K-drama flourish. “My mother and I would watch K-dramas together during the pandemic. She was the first person who said, ‘I would love to see you doing something like this one day.’ It feels surreal now because this isn’t just my dream coming true, but something my family believed in from the beginning,” she says.

Jeju Olle will release in English, Hindi and Korean, and Sen enjoyed the opportunity to learn Korean language for it. “Everyone on set was teaching me something every day,” she shares, adding that even she imparted Indian culture to her Korean colleagues.

“We all went to an Indian restaurant together and they absolutely loved naan, dal makhani and rasgullas. I was teaching them Hindi while they were teaching me Korean,” she ends.