FILM INTERVIEW: CANDICE BOUCHER
South African 'Playboy' & 'Cosmo' Model Makes Her Bollywood Debut in ‘Aazaan’
She sensationally graced the covers of Cosmopolitan, Elle, FHM, GQ, Playboy, and Sports Illustrated, but the buxom model from South Africa known as Candice Boucher is foraging into new territory this weekend: she is making her onscreen debut in Bollywood, as Prashant Chadha’s Aazaan (starring Sachiin Joshi and Dilip Tahil) opens this weekend.
In speaking to the Indian press last week, Ms. Boucher admitted she was looking forward to jumping on the Bollywood bandwagon, mostly because she was exposed to the popular cinematic industry during her childhood days in South Africa.
“I did know about Bollywood before doing this film because, while growing up in South Africa, we did have a few Indian movies showcased on the TV,” Ms. Boucher, who did an item number in Aazaan, told the Indian media. “I was aware a little bit about the industry, that it’s very colorful and has a lot of music and dance.”
Interestingly enough, all she could recall of Bollywood was its color and song-and-dance routines. When pressed about what else she enjoyed, Ms. Boucher struggled a tad with movie names, but one leading lady was clearly jumping off the tip of her tongue.
“I don’t remember the name of the film right now, but as far as the actors are concerned, I am a big fan of Aishwarya Rai. She is gorgeous, and a great actress too,” Ms. Boucher informed the Indian press. “The fact that she has made a mark, not only in Bollywood but also Hollywood, speaks a lot about her. She is beautiful.”
In playing a beautiful love interest herself, opposite Mr. Joshi in Aazaan, Ms. Boucher, 27, was both nervous and excited to be on a Bollywood set as a headlining actor. The nervousness stemmed from her self-perceived shortcomings with the hip and tongue, while the excitement rooted from collaborating with an actor-friendly director.
“Prashant got this project to me. He gave me a call when I was in New York last year and told me that he has a part that is perfect for me. I was little nervous because it was a Hindi movie. I don’t speak the language, and my dancing is also not really up to the mark,” she confessed to the press. “But Prashant kind of scripted the role around me and my personality, and then he changed all my dialogue to English. It was a fun experience, but equally nerve-wracking.”
Nerve-wracking sure, but Ms. Boucher claims she is certainly not discouraged from returning to Bollywood again in the very near future. Instead, she seems to be ready for the challenge.
“Prashant just gave me an opportunity of a lifetime, and I couldn’t say no to it. It was a learning experience,” she candidly told the media. “If I think about going in the Bollywood direction, I have to see my Hindi, definitely. It has to be a lot better, and also the dancing.”
Okay, she will be concentrating on learning Hindi and a few dance moves, yet do not expect Ms. Boucher to exclusively reside in Bollywood. For all intents and purposes, she is still a free agent.
“At the moment, I’m happy that I got this opportunity, and I’ll keep on trying to learn Hindi, but Bollywood isn’t something I'll only concentrate on,” Ms. Boucher told the press. “However, if something great comes up, I’m open to the idea.”
In the meantime, Ms. Boucher hopes audiences are open to checking out Aazaam -- an action-adventure thriller about biological warfare some insiders are hailing as Bollywood’s answer to the Bourne franchise.
‘Aazaam’ opens worldwide on October 14, 2011 and was filmed in India, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Poland, South Africa, and Thailand.
