Air Hostess Wants to Conquer South Cinema

Khenisha Chandran a former air hostess and model shares her tryst with the tinsel town in a tête-à-tête with Hans Talkies. Her upcoming film ‘Jagannatakam’ is all set to release on March 13

Khenisha Chandran is from Kerala but she was born and brought up in New Delhi. A hardcore Delhite from heart, she did her bachelor’s in psychology from Delhi University. After a brief stint as an air hostess for a private airline, the 25-year-old decided to step into showbiz. It all happened when a passenger offered her to be the brand ambassador of a mobile phone company and her course of life changed.

“One day a representative of Uninor offered me to be their brand ambassador for Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. I endorsed their brand for 18 months,” Khenisha shares. She tells us that the opportunity opened doors for her Tollywood debut. “After seeing the hoarding of the advertisement, the director of ‘Ganapathi Bappa Moriya’ approached me for the lead role in the film,” recalls Khenisha.

Though she was keen on acting from childhood, she never dreamt of becoming an actress. “Since childhood I was interested in acting. Although I never acted in any plays, I am a trained dancer and have learnt Bharatnatyam and Mohiniattam. I started dancing when I was three-years-old and I danced for 17 years,” says the leggy lass. She adds that the classical dance forms help her in expressing emotions the right way.

“The bhavas in these dance forms need various expressions and because of them, I am able to hold my expressions on screen for long. I have done many stage shows and guess that’s the reason I wasn’t camera conscious when I first faced the camera,” she says. Khenisha aspires to work in all the film industries in the south before foraying into Bollywood. “I want to prove my mettle in the south before venturing into Bollywood. I want to conquer south first,” she chuckles.

“As I am from Kerala I want to work in south India. I want to be directed by Rajamouli. I also want to work with Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu and the list goes on,” smiles Khenisha who is gung-ho about ‘Jagannatakam.’ “It’s a thriller love story that prevails in one night. Screenplay is the backbone of the film.”

NAVIN PIVHAL