From Russia, with love
In a chat with us, she speaks about her love for the city, her experiences as a dancer and more.
Having been in Chennai for only seven months, Jane Kataria has successfully managed to establish herself in multiple fields — as a dancer, model and an RJ here. That apart, the Russian is also making an entry into tinsel town and is shaking a leg in an upcoming Tamil film!
In a chat with us, she speaks about her love for the city, her experiences as a dancer and more.
Starting the conversation on why she moved to Chennai, Jane says, “My husband is of Indian origin and since his job required him to shift to Chennai, we decided to move here. But I’m overwhelmed that the city has been so welcoming in many ways — I’ve been able to pursue all the professions that I was involved with back in Moscow.”
On donning multiple hats, she says, “Well, I’m a dancer, model, RJ and an actor — and I love all these equally. RJing here for Chennai Live 104.8 FM has been a good experience, since the show I do is about interacting with fellow expats. I have also been conducting dance workshops and I was particularly amazed with the response I got for a class I taught in Coimbatore.”
Speaking about her stint in film industry so far, Jane, a mother of two, states, “Though I can’t reveal the details, I’m doing an item song for a movie and it has been shot in Salem; in another movie, I’m cast as a strict mother of French origin — it is an intense film. I’m really upbeat that I would get good recognition.”
So how has she been liking her stay in Chennai so far? She replies, “Though I had visited some Indian cities before moving here, this city felt totally foreign to other places in India. But I have to to say, people here are really friendly and helpful. And when I first heard that Tamil is spoken here, I thought I could master it pretty easily, given that I know five other foreign languages, including Hindi. But I was shocked to know that the Tamil alphabet itself has 247 characters. So, for now, I’m sticking with vanakkams and nandris!” (laughs)
Jane also says that she loves the fact that Chennai has a ‘non-existent nightlife’. “I love this aspect of the city because, instead of resorting to partying and stuff, you see half the city waking up early and engaging in activities like walking, jogging and cricket.”
On a concluding note, Jane speaks about how she is able to balance her personal life and profession. “It’s very difficult — 24 hours a day seems so less! But my husband has been really supportive and we have raised our children to be independent. Once people learn to be independent, life tends to become easier,” she asserts.