Nowadays the success of a movie at the box office is not just related to quintessential script, direction and the acting galore. The days of filming the whole story in an artificial set are truly over and filmmakers worldwide are hunting down for a perfect location, a picturesque giving the plot a realistic touch. Admittedly, what matters now is the writer’s eye keenly peeled for cameo appearances of incredible geographical wonders. The perfect choice of location for the shoot adds the hint of surreal drama on screen.
Qatar, for its secure environment, modern development, natural landscapes, beautiful exotic beaches and demographic heterogeneity, has fast been becoming a place to attract filmmakers worldwide, serving as a shoot location, be it for a fashion sequence or a commercial film.
Having a large diaspora of Indian expatriates, Bollywood and other regional cinemas have regularly been targeting Qatar as their shooting site.
Halina K, the young Bollywood actress on the rise, aspires to make it big in Bollywood. In the industry for previous three years, she has been a part of different commercial advertisements as a model and has appeared in many music videos. 
Halina is scheduled to shoot two songs in Qatar from tomorrow onwards for a movie. Community spoke with her about her acting career so far and her future aspirations.


Tell us about yourself.
I am a Finnish national. My father is from Afghanistan and my mother is Finnish with Russian origins. Acting and dance has been my passion since my childhood.


What attracts you to Bollywood?
I have been in love with Bollywood since I was 6-year-old. Children in my neighbourhood, half Indians and half Finnish, used to watch Bollywood movies instead of cartoons. I actually fell in love with Indian culture and since then I’m a huge fan of Shah Rukh Khan. I’ve studied cinema and theatre. 
What experience have you had so far in Bollywood?
I came to India three and a half years ago. It has been an adventure for me. I did not know anyone in India and I did not know Hindi language.
At first, it was a personal calling kind of a thing. I was in Finland when I first thought that I have to go to India. I had no clue why, but I just then ended up here. I leant Hindi in a year. Now people here do not believe that I am not an Indian. I had to start from zero. It was definitely a difficult choice but I pushed through somehow. 
In the beginning, I did not think to stay in India for a long time. I met some people in the business and they said that I had good potential to excel in the industry. Now, here I am.


Tell us about other aspects of your work so far?
So far, I have worked in over 100 TV commercials for different companies. I have been featured in five music videos for different artistes. The videos have done pretty well. My recent video crossed 200 million views on YouTube and that too in one month. It also came on international billboard charts.
My first TV commercial was with Shah Rukh Khan and that made me quite popular in India. He is my hero. I am very lucky. It was like a dream come true. I have shot commercials for Nescafe, Fair and Handsome, Volkswagen, and Lays. I have also worked with stars like Amir Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, and Farhan Akhter.
I am very happy with what I have achieved so far. 


Have you been to Qatar before?
No, it is going to be my first time. I have been to a neighbouring Gulf country. I liked the culture and people there.
But, I am super excited to come to Qatar. I have seen videos and heard a lot about it. The place, they say, is larger than life. Now I am going to come and see the place myself. I am going to shoot there. I plan to visit Museum of Islamic Art, the Pearl, Souq Waqif and beaches. I have also heard a lot about ‘karak chai’ in Doha. I am a tea lover and I will definitely love to have it.


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