A Brazilian in Bollywood

Hindi movies are Brazilian model Moufid Aziz's aspiration. He makes his Bollywood debut with 'Rockstar' (where he plays an Indian) and says he feels at home in the country and has no plans to go back.

After Giselle Monteiro, Moufid is another Brazilian discovery by director Imtiaz Ali.

"My initial plan was to stay here for three months, but I could not leave because I liked it so much. India is home for me. I have no plans of going anywhere else. I do want to get more Bollywood roles and I'm very glad to play an Indian in a movie," Moufid said.

The 32-year-old was born in Curitba, Brazil, to parents of Portuguese and Arabic heritage. A modelling assignment brought him to India in 2007.

"Since 2007 I have been staying in India mostly and my impression of the country is getting better every day because now I understand the culture better and I can see good changes in the country," said the hunk, who plays newcomer Nargis Fakhri's husband in 'Rockstar'.

Moufid has had his brush with the glamour world thanks to TV commercials for Lux and Slice with stars like Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif. His Bollywood dreams took shape during his stay in the country's entertainment capital, Mumbai.

"I started to think about Bollywood because everyone here talks so much about it...you can't not think of trying your luck in Bollywood," he said, adding: "I love music and dancing, so I believe that is a good beginning. I just hope I'm ready (for the industry)."

His favourite Hindi film is '3 Idiots', but he has also watched and enjoyed others like 'Rock On!!', 'Om Shanti Om', 'Jab We Met' and 'Dabbang'.

'Rockstar' is centred on Ranbir Kapoor's character, Janardhan Jakhar, a Jat boy living in the middle-class locality of Pitampura who dreams of becoming a famous rockstar like Jim Morrison. The film releases November 11.

Moufid ended up with a role in Imtiaz's 'Rockstar' through what many film aspirants go through in Mumbai -- auditions!

"I did the regular thing...I went for one audition, but then I had to go there a few more times. When I was at the Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision (co-producers) office for the fourth time, I decided to ask what was happening with the role. Imtiaz told me I was approved for the role from the second day and he asked me if I wanted to do the job. I said 'Yes, for sure'. So I was really happy to get it," he added.

Apart from calling his director "professional and helpful", Moufid says he had a learning experience working with the film's main leads, Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis.

"I could see the way Ranbir works and how professional he is. We are not in touch, but we had a great time and I'm'sure we could be good friends with time," said Moufid, who took Hindi diction classes for the film.

"I took diction classes for the movie and that helped me to connect to Nargis and everyone because they knew I needed more attention for my dialogues," he added.

IANS