Nairobi News

Bhavini Sheth left Nairobi for Bollywood three years ago and she made it big. The Hillcrest schooled actress wears many hats: Miss India Kenya 2013, Miss Beautiful Hair Worldwide 2013, She is also a professional model, actress, and lawyer all rolled in one.

Sheth gave NairobiNews an exclusive interview on what she is doing:

 You are Miss India Kenya 2013, how has this helped you in your career? Has it made a difference?

Yes of course, basically I was already settled in Mumbai when I got crowned Miss India Kenya and it gave me the exposure, even globally. I learnt so much about what goes on in this industry.

It took me to a much higher platform- The Miss India Worldwide pageant which was held in Malaysia.

 You’ve done two Hollywood projects. Tell us about the experience of working with the likes of Kelly Brooks.

I have done two cameo roles in two British films, the first one was called Plastics which was directed by Julian and William Gilby and is set for release next month.

The entire film was shot in England before I won the pageant. It has a full British cast and one role called for an actress of Indian origin so they contacted me and it was an amazing experience.

The second film I did was a very similar to Plastics, it was also shot in England and is called Taking Stock.

It is due for release next year and it stars Kelly Brooks, who was a delight to work with; I got the second film through reference from my first.

The directors looked through the footage from my first film and liked what they saw, I was Miss India Kenya 2013 that helped sway their decision and upped my game.

 Do you have any plans on moving back to Kenya? If so, would you consider acting in local productions, film or even TV?

A: I am actually planning my move back very soon. I feel that there is a severe gap in our industry and we aren’t creating enough opportunities for our actors.

That’s where I would like to make myself useful, I think I would like to somehow bridge that gap and somehow give local talent the opportunities they need.

I would also consider sharing my talent with them; I did theatre for seven years before I went into film. I am essentially a theatre actress.

How hard is it for one to break into Bollywood?

It is hard. When I went there I realised that competition is so crazy, statistics reveal that there are ten new girls who make the move to Mumbai every day in order to make it at Bollywood.

Lupita Nyongo is a Kenyan actress who has made it. What did you think of her, of the film?

To see a Kenyan actress go so far makes me so proud. There’s so much talent in this country and I feel ‘finally one of our talents was recognised worldwide’ and it’s a great feeling.

If you watch the film you’ll see that her performance is just exceptional, she is what you would call a natural actor, nothing about her is over the top, everything is so real and it makes me so proud to say she’s Kenyan.

 We don’t see many pageants in Kenya anymore. Why do you think that is so? Do you feel the Asian-Kenyan community is yet to accept this as a profession?

I think what had happened initially was that there was so much awareness and acceptance of what it meant to be a part of a pageant. Kenyan talent should be showcased.

Pageants used to be considered taboo; people had the misconception that a pageant means one is parading herself or her beauty and there’s nothing more to it.

That’s so far from the truth, people don’t realise these girls have talent; they’re not just pretty faces, they’re smart. It’s a prestigious thing to be a part of a pageant, that awareness may not be full realised here and that’s what we need to work on.