A pet parent to two cats, Charles and Edward, Elli AvrRam has now virtually adopted Toby, a five-year-old rescue dog in Gurugram. Unable to bring a dog home because of her work commitments and frequent travel, she has instead committed to financially supporting Toby’s care.

Speaking about what prompted the decision, Elli says, “I have been supporting Funandfur, an animal welfare NGO, for years. When its founder, Vaishali Sharma, reached out to me about Toby, I immediately knew I wanted to become his virtual parent. She had only asked me to share his story on social media, but I’m not in a position to adopt a dog right now. So, this felt like the perfect first step.”

She believes pet parenting is a lifelong commitment that demands time, care and consistency. She says, “Growing up in Sweden, I often looked after my neighbours’ dogs, taking them for walks and feeding them. I always dreamt of having a dog of my own, but it never happened. Having a dog is a huge responsibility. They depend on you completely, so you have to be able to give them your time and care. Travelling also becomes difficult unless you have someone trustworthy to look after them round the clock. It’s a commitment that deserves careful thought. In my case, virtual adoption has allowed me to support Toby financially and help give him a much better life than he would have had on the streets. At the same time, it feels incredibly personal because I’ll receive regular updates, be able to video call him and visit him whenever I can. This initiative helps more injured and abandoned dogs get rescued, treated and cared for.”

She plans to visit Toby in Gurgaon this August. She says, “We’ve already been video calling, and he’s so full of life. I can’t wait to finally meet him, spend time with him and give him lots of cuddles.”

For Elli AvrRam, Christmas has always been more than a festival — it is a feeling rooted in family, tradition and togetherness. Born and raised in Sweden, her childhood Christmases were spent amid snow, grandparents, cousins and cherished rituals. Though Mumbai is now home, the season still stirs a quiet longing for Sweden. This year, however, Elli has turned that nostalgia into celebration, hosting her most heartfelt Christmas yet in the city.

Recalling Christmas in Sweden, Elli shares, “Christmas meant the whole family coming together — decorating the house, putting up the tree, even changing curtains and cushions to Christmas ones. The days were filled with carols, singing and dancing, mulled wine, seasonal cookies and muffins, and the joy of exchanging gifts.”

Christmas Day followed traditions deeply etched in her memory. “We’d wake up to Christmas breakfast and lunch. At 3 pm, everyone watched special Christmas cartoons on TV. A public figure would light a candle and wish the nation a Merry Christmas — it’s a big tradition,” Elli shares.

The day continued with building snowmen, opening presents and ending with a cozy family dinner. In Mumbai, far from snow and gardens, Elli shared, “This is the first year I’ve bought a big Christmas tree and decorated my home. I’ve created my dream Christmas vibe and gone all out,” she says. She’s also making mulled wine on her own for the first time. “It was always something I did with my mom. Now I’ll be serving it to my friends.”

Elli added, “Since I’m not going home, I decided to celebrate here — with my friends and my two babies, Charles and Edward,” she adds, referring to her cats. The contrast with her early Christmases in Mumbai is stark. “The first Christmas I spent alone here was extremely depressing. I promised myself I’d never go through that again,” Elli admits. “I had a small tree back then — it wasn’t much fun. But I guess those moments teach you something too.”

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It’s Christmas today, and while actor Elli AvrRam usually spends the festival back home in Sweden with her family, this year, she is in Mumbai.

“I will be waking up with my two boys (her cats), Charles and Edward, and I’ve got them Christmas gifts too, which I’m going to try to make them open. They’re already sleeping under my Christmas tree, so cozy and cute. And it’s going to be a FaceTime celebration with my parents,” she says, adding, “This season means a lot to me and reminds me of Diwali.”

She shares, “When I moved to India and the way I saw Diwali being celebrated here, it has always given me the Christmas vibes. The way you just lit up your home, decorate it and make it warm and homely, that’s what Christmas is for me,” adding that decorating the Christmas tree is her favourite part of the festival.

The morning of Christmas brings back a rush of memories for Elli. “I always wanted to know what I was being gifted. So, I’d sneak in the middle of the night before Christmas to the tree where the gifts were put. I’d gently remove the wrap and see what was there, and then pack it again. Once, my parents caught me and asked why I would ruin the surprise. I replied to them, ‘But one can forget’, and since then, they have always used this line against me,” she laughs.

Elli’s family celebrates the festival with cosy meals, Christmas movies and cartoons, and a special evening treat. “My mom acted in the film Fanny And Alexander (1982), and it is shown every year on Christmas. Every time I see it, I get excited and have my fan moment. It’s a very nice ending to Christmas,” she shares.

The actor also remembers having a special gravy her mom makes during Xmas. “This year, I’m not going to get to eat that. But we are getting ginger cookies, I will make mulled wine, and have hot chocolate. There’s a saffron muffin that we only make in Sweden and eat on Christmas, and I’m making that too. It will give off a bit of a Christmas vibe.”

Actor Elli AvrRam entered showbiz a decade ago, a journey she now describes as a roller-coaster ride. She made her Hindi film debut in 2013 with Mickey Virus, following which she starred in projects such as Kis Kisko Pyaar Karoon (2015), Jabariya Jodi (2019), Malang (2020) and the Tamil film Naane Varuvean (2022).

“My journey in Bollywood has been amazing. It has been a roller-coaster. But I find it all beautiful because of the acceptance that I have got from filmmakers who believed in me,” AvrRam, who hails from Sweden, tells us.

The 34-year-old continues, “I’m very grateful that I’m getting to do so many different roles. In my next film, I play the role of a ghost… I’m just so happy with the response that I have got on portraying different characters”.

But the biggest challenge that remains for the Ganapath actor is being away from her family in Sweden. “I want to buy a very big house in India and get my entire family to come here so that I can take care of them. In these 10 years, the biggest challenge has been to live here without my family. It is a different feeling to come back home and tell them about your day. Video calls are not the same. That has been the biggest struggle,” AvrRam ends.

Having shared the screen space recently with accomplished actors like Amitabh Bachchan (Goodbye) and Dhanush (Tamil film Naane Varuven), Elli AvrRam’s decade-long stay in India seems to finally be paying off. “Things work when you are about to give up,” says the Swedish-Greek actress, who frequently breaks into fluent Hindi mid-conversation.

In a candid chat, Elli talks about how Aishwarya Rai Bachchan-starrer Devdas was a turning point in her life, the need for Bollywood to be more diverse and inclusive and her journey so far. Excerpts:

Right from my childhood, I have felt a deep connect with India. I was hooked to documentaries about India, and I was a fan of shows like The Kumars At No. 42. Everything about the culture and people fascinated me. The colours, laughter and noise… you don’t see that abroad. Bollywood only made that connect stronger. My grandmother would watch Hindi movies in Greece, and she was a huge fan of Nargis ji. Now, select Hindi films are shown in Swedish cinemas, but that wasn’t the case before. Not many Bollywood DVDs were available in Sweden when I was growing up, so I ended up watching a few big films, like Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Namastey London and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, over and over again. I was blown away by Shah Rukh Kham’s Devdas and that film was the reason I wanted to come to India and pursue a career in Hindi movies. I wanted to play Paro. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan became my idol. I even had her posters in my room.

The Bollywood movies I saw made me feel that everyone lives in these big bungalows here. I never thought Mumbai could be full of buildings. The people I was staying with in India said, ‘Amitabh Bachchan ka bungalow hai Mumbai mein and a few more people have bungalows, but a majority of Mumbaikars stay in buildings.’ That is something I had not anticipated.

White girls have been stereotyped in Bollywood. You either got to play characters who speak with an American or British accent, an NRI or these exotic dance numbers. I am happy that it is changing. Now, you are cast if you suit the character or speak the language. Your background or nationality isn’t the criteria anymore. After my recent film Naane Varuven with Dhanush, many people called to say, ‘You look so Indian, Elli!’ when I came to India, the rickshawalas always asked me whether I was from Punjab or Kashmir. They could never guess that I was a foreigner. Strangely, when I would go for the auditions and say that I am Elli AvrRam from Sweden, their outlook towards me would change because of my name. Sometimes, I would introduce myself as Elli Sharma just to understand their perception and people would say, ‘Half Indian toh lagti hai.’ This was just to test them. If I had an Indian name, more opportunities would’ve come my way. Thankfully, performance-oriented roles are getting prominence and casting is getting more inclusive now. As an actor, you are a character; your real identity is secondary. The Indian audience has accepted me since Bigg Boss. I want the film industry to do that, too. I think filmmakers are seeing me as a versatile actress now.

A debate around whether Swedish people serve food to their guests or not has become a hot topic on social media. It all started because of a screenshot from a Reddit (American social news aggregation portal) thread, where a user shared, “I remember going to my Swedish friend’s house. And while we were playing in his room, his mom yelled that dinner was ready. And check this. He told me to WAIT in his room while they ate (sic).” The comment was upvoted over 10,000 times on the social media website.

Ask actor Elli AvrRam, who is from Sweden, if she ever experienced anything like that, and she says, “I remember this happening while I was growing up.” She goes on to recall an incident. “I had gone to a friend’s house and her family was having dinner. I got to watch cartoons on TV while they ate,” she shares.

But, the Jabariya Jodi (2019) actor asserts that not all families do that. “It’s not in the culture [of the country]. But, it’s weird. It’s not about being rude or unwelcoming. It’s like you cook as much food as the number of members in your family. So if you are a family of four, food only enough for four people is cooked,” she explains.

The 31-year-old is glad that this never happened at her home. “We always had enough food for everyone. I had a Greek upbringing as well. This is not a part of the culture [of Sweden or Greece]. My mom would stuff my friends with food,” she ends.

Singer-composer Neeraj Shridhar, who started his singing career with pop group Bombay Vikings in 1994, believes that a lot has to change in the Indian music industry. “There are copyright laws in place, which are both good and bad,” he points out.

Stressing on the need to promote and provide greater opportunities to younger talent, he says, “Record companies ask for a huge sum of money for copyrights that newcomers can’t afford. If they make a cover version, all the money goes to those people who hold the rights of the song.”

Shridhar adds, “If a person has worked hard, they should be given some credit. They need to go to somebody who can produce their songs and that costs a lot of money.”

Looking back at the time when he was working towards making a mark in the music scene, the 53-year-old shares, “We were paid well and I would be put up in five-star hotels when I’d come to India from Sweden to shoot my videos. Now, there’s no money because record companies have shut the doors for all indie artistes. Though I’m happy that people with great talent are coming out with their music, they don’t have the means that we had in those days.”

While the Tumhi Ho Bandhu (Cocktail; 2012) singer lauds the boom in the digital space that has given a push to newer sounds, he feels that the industry will return to its golden period when diverse voices come into the picture. “A lot of monotonous work is happening, which is why most songs sound the same. Every other singer is trying to copy Arijit Singh (singer). I stuck to my style and it worked, even though I wasn’t the best. That’s the only way to go places. We need to bring in our identities,” the singer ends.

Actor Elli AvrRam, who came to India from Sweden many years ago, believes that the Hindi film industry has now opened its arms to actors belonging to different ethnicities. She tells us, “I think it’s becoming like Hollywood. People from so many nationalities are working in our movies today. Bollywood is huge and inclusivity has made it even bigger.”

The actor, who is also open to international content, was recently seen in a Swedish short film, With You. This marked her return to a Swedish project after 13 years. So, what drove her towards it? “This opportunity came to me a couple of years ago when I felt I wanted to act in my mother tongue. I’ve always been a hardcore Bollywood fan, but I decided to do something different,” she says.

What makes this project special for the actor is the positive message it conveys on mental health: “I really wanted to be part of something that could help us spread light.”

AvrRam’s performance in the project won her the award for the best actress at the Stockholm City Film Festival 2021. “It left me shocked,” she says.

So how important are awards for her? “The one that I won for With You is, of course, special, as no one knows me in Sweden. I know that they have given me the award based on my performance,” shares the Mickey Virus (2013) actor, adding that it has motivated her to work in more Swedish projects in the coming days.

A few days back, Elli AvrRam came back to Mumbai from Sweden, where she spent the past month in the company of her loved ones. She reveals that while her family was worried about her travel back to India amid the second wave of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, she had to come back since she has to move to a new apartment in the city.

Currently quarantining in her pad, she shares, “I was supposed to be back much earlier but due to the rise in the cases in the city, I kept pushing my return flight. I had to come back now because I need to move out of my present apartment.”

The Inside Edge 2 actor adds, “It’s a scary situation, but I tried to not be scared while travelling. In fact, my parents and friends were more worried. I’m trying to not worry and I’m making sure to follow all home quarantine rules.”

She says that the Covid situation in Sweden is strange. “It’s quite confusing there. No one wears masks in Sweden but they do maintain social distancing and follow Covid-related rules at restaurants and stores. To be honest, everyone there is so chill about the virus. I didn’t meet most of my friends. I didn’t want to catch the virus and pass it on to my parents or my grandmother,” she narrates.

As AvrRam looks forward to resuming her shoots, she stresses on the need to not panic. “I’m eager to start shooting but I’ll make sure that things are taken care of properly. I believe that it’s important to not feed fear because fear has the power to destroy us,” she signs off.

A film that shaped romance and pop culture in India — Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ) — written and directed by then debutant Aditya Chopra, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, shattered all box office records and is one of the biggest all-time blockbusters in the history of Hindi cinema. It is also the longest-running Hindi film. On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, DDLJ is now being re-released across the world.

"DDLJ made people fall in love and has constantly won hearts whenever it has been screened across the world. On its 25th anniversary, we are re-releasing the film so that audiences can celebrate this cult classic on the big screen as we are planning the re-release in several key diaspora and non-diaspora global markets," informed Nelson DSouza, Yash Raj Films, associate vice president-International distribution.

The 1995 film will be re-released across Germany, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, USA, UK, Canada, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Estonia and Finland on October 30. "The film, which was made at a budget of Rs 4 crore, emerged as a blockbuster in 1995 collecting about Rs 89 crore in India and Rs 13.50 crore in the overseas markets. In today's inflation adjusted value, DDLJ's collection stands at a staggering Rs 455 crore in India and Rs 69 crore in overseas territories, taking the total worldwide collections to a phenomenal Rs 524 crore," informs a trade source.