According to Jade, who was selected after the director Adivi Sesh auditioned over 400 girls for the role, she signed on with the film as she is in love with the medium of cinema and doesn’t mind acting in any language. “I would love to go to any place in the world and act in whichever language that offers me to act. I have done TV and stage shows back in the US. I am from California, and I’m trying to make it into Hollywood. My agent told me that there were auditions for an Indian film two years ago. I gave it a shot and got selected. The movie was completely shot in the US and I play the character Padma, who is an Indian-American. I quite liked the character and gave it a nod. I am game to act in any language as it is a learning experience.
My passion is acting in movies and it doesn’t matter which language I get to act in”, says Jade.
In Karma, Jade plays Padma, who lost her mother early on in life and her father to a murder. She grows up an atheist and meets Dev an ardent spiritualist.
For Telugu cinema audience who are used to imported heroines, Jade won’t come as a surprise.
What they will find more impressive is how she managed to learn Telugu in three months from two tutors back in America and can follow the language well now. Thanks to her performance in Karma, she is getting offers by the dozen from filmmakers in Tollywood and Bollywood. Basking in the stardom in a foreign country, Jade says the fans here are very different from those in the US and she is madly in love with the stardom here.
“In the US, when we see stars, we talk about them in hushed tones and of course stare at them. Here, I recently went to a cinema hall that was screening our film and we almost got mobbed. People were taking autographs from me on their hands, currency notes and papers.
People love actors here and walk up to them to shake hands. It was overwhelming and a great experience” she adds with excitement.
According to the actress, even though the popular perception back in the US about Indian cinema is just Bollywood and that it is all about a few songs and dances, she feels the understanding of Indian cinema has changed post Slumdog Millionare.
Jade watched several Hindi and Telugu films, like Ammoru, Murari and Devdas before shooting for Karma to get a feel of Indian movies. She admits that it was tough for her to emote scenes for this film as Indian movies have over the top action and are sometimes too dramatic.
“In Hollywood, the acting is very subtle and natural. After watching Indian films, I realised that action is very dramatic and animated here.
It is all about the grandeur and larger-than-life characters. The director, Adivi Sesh put me through a gruelling process of understanding the Telugu sensibilities. I have learnt about Lord Vishnu, Ganesha, Lakshmi and Shiva. I read a few scriptures and had a fair idea of what India is all about. It helped me in this film,” says Jade, who managed to click 700 odd pictures in the city which she will take back home as her fond memories. Jade is looking forward to Karma’s release in US for her to show the film to her family and friends.
“My dad wanted to see the posters of this film. Karma released in select theatres. It will soon have a bigger release and I am waiting for it. I feel glad our two years of hard-work is being appreciated.”