(Top) Model-turned-actress Ilene Hamann in a moment from Rog and with co-star Irrfan in the same film

She is Pooja Bhatt?s new find and she is from South Africa. In recent weeks, Rog?s leading lady Ilene Hamann has been hogging all the attention. With the film releasing this Friday at INOX (Forum and City Centre), 89 Cinemas and Roxy, the model-turned-actress chats with Pratim D. Gupta about her Bollywood experiences, over email.

• You have been an established South African model. Why do an Indian film?

Acting was something I never thought of but when the opportunity came my way, I grabbed it. I mean, when life comes knocking on your door with challenges like this, you don?t turn them down.

• How did the Rog offer come about?

Pooja (Bhatt) saw my picture on the cover of a magazine and contacted my agent in South Africa. The rest as they say? is history.

• Have you seen Indian films before appearing in one?

I was aware of the existence of Bollywood but had not actually watched any of the films. After Pooja contacted me, I did some research on her and heard that hers was one of the most professional set-ups in the business. I was very pleased to discover on my arrival in India that all I had heard about her and her company was true.

• How comfortable are you with the Hindi language? Do you think it can be a barrier for international actors like yourself?

The language was definitely a very big barrier since I did not speak or understand a word of Hindi when I got here. But I was given a very good dialogue coach who helped me learn and understand my lines in no time at all. It?s a barrier if you do not apply yourself. I did.

Also, if you are asked to play someone who is absolutely not your type, it might not work out. Pooja was intelligent enough to know that I can?t play a traditional Indian girl. That?s why she cast me as Maya Solomon, a supermodel who is Anglo-Indian and works out of Mumbai. There was no attempt to Indianise me beyond a point.

• How was it like working with one of the best Indian actors, Irrfan?

Irrfan was amazingly patient with me. Even when I struggled with the language on a few occasions, he did not make me feel incompetent or like a novice.

A thorough gentleman, he went out of his way to make me feel very comfortable. He is a very shy, gentle guy.

• Are you open to more Indian film offers? With which directors would you like to work?

Well, if something as unusual as Rog comes up, definitely. But no typical Bollywood fare for me. I don?t see myself fitting into conventional Hindi films where I have to do the ?item dance? thing. I do not see myself doing that.

• What are the kinds of films you watch?

Films like West Side Story and anything with Sean Connery in it! I have a huge crush on him.

• There is a lot of flesh show in Rog. What is your take on exposure in films?

Everything in the film needs to be seen in the whole context before jumping to any conclusion. What is exposure to you might not be exposure to me. I have not worn anything in Rog that I have not worn before so there was no discomfort at all.

Revealing to me would involve partial or total nudity, and that?s definitely not the case with Rog.