Dayana Erappa is the latest addition to the ensemble cast of Mani Ratnam’s bilingual Nawaab (Chekka Chivantha Vaanam in Tamil), which incidentally marks the acting debut of the Coorg-born model.
An elated Dayana shares, “I was called for an audition by Mani Ratnam’s team. Initially, I thought it was a prank call, but later, I realised that it was genuine and sent my pictures. I even gave two rounds of auditions. But after a couple of months, the team called and told me that I was on board. I just couldn’t believe it.”
She adds, “I never thought I’d get into films; so the offer means a lot to me. It would be a dream debut and I could not have asked for more.”
Apparently, the former model had butterflies when she met the ace filmmaker.
“I was so scared when I met him because I had heard great things about him. But he broke the ice and told me that he was impressed with my performance in the audition,” shares Dayana, who admits she is trying to get a hang of the role’s nuances.
“I am currently doing workshops with theatre actors to get my expressions right. I have several Tamil films in mind that I will watch to get the role right,” she adds.
