From South Africa to Tollywood: Dia Nicholos

South African model Dia Nicholos is all set to make her debut in films with the Telugu film Yamaleela 2. “I play the character of Anandi, a PhD student who is a Malayali girl settled in Hyderabad,” says Dia.

The film has been directed by S.V. Krishna Reddy and has Dr Satish as the lead actor. The film is complete and all set to release on November 28.

“My experience in Tollywood has been quite pleasant, definitely not as difficult as I imagined it would be. I come from South Africa and am adapting to a new country, new culture and new people.

Though I found the going tough in the beginning, but with the support of the crew and cast of the film, everything went smoothly,” she says adding that she was approached for the Telugu film and she accepted it.

“It is not about the language or region. I wanted to work in the entertainment industry and then I got this opportunity which I grabbed,” she says answering the query about why she did not try Hindi films first as that might have been easier than a regional language film.

Before entering the Telugu film industry, Dia did her research and continued it even while working on the film.

“While I was shooting for this film, I watched many Telugu films and observed the stories and the songs. I understood a lot of things while watching those films,” says Dia.

She agreed that language was a problem in the beginning. “It is a completely different language, the slang and the pronunciation is not easy for me as I come from a different country.

But after few days of shooting, it was quite manageable. Now I can understand and appreciate the language a little more. Telugu is a very nice language,” she says.

When asked about her next step, she says that she is waiting for the film’s release. “I am open to working in any language with anybody,” says Dia.