Iulia Vantur: “My friends say that I’ve become more Indian than them”
Romanian personality, Iulia Vantur has spoken about her love for India and how she has embraced the culture in such a short amount of time.
Vantur who will make her Hindi film debut ‘Radha Kyon Gori Main Kyon Kaala’ sees her character, a foreign Krishna bhakt coming to India and falling in love with the country and its culture, much like herself in real life.
In conversation with Mumbai Mirror, the actress spoke about discovering divinity. “It is a different culture but the love and emotion for divinity is the same. I have been blessed to know from both the sides. From a foreigner’s point of you, there is a lot of joy, colour and energy. I lived in India to understand its culture and values. Sometimes, I feel like an Indian. My friends often say that I have become more Indian than them,” Vantur said, adding, “My character is very attracted to the whole Krishna Universe.”
Mesmerised with India and its traditions, from Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali to Eid, Vantur reportedly celebrated with Salman Khan and the entire Khan family. Speaking further about the festivals of the country, she said, “I love that India celebrates everything and finds a reason to celebrate. Life is a celebration.”
Speaking about her acting debut, “I had some other offers before but I said no to them. But then Prem Soni came with ‘Radha Kyon Gori Main Kyon Kaala’ and I really liked my character and the message of the movie. My character goes through many challenging journeys since her childhood. She has been through many tragic events in her life. But because of her faith and love in Krishna, she has the strength and power to not let her be put down. She is very fragile, delicate and yet very strong. The film has a very strong social message,” Vantur shared.
When asked about the first thing that she learnt in Hindi, Vantur said, “The first line I learnt in Hindi is ‘tumhara dost hai’. That was because of Bobby Deol. In a film, a child was mesmerised by actor Bobby Deol, and he says, ‘Tumhara Dost Hai’. That’s how I learnt the line. So, yes, ‘dost’ is the first word I actually learnt and I think that defines India. India is very friendly and welcoming. I am still in the process of learning Hindi and taking classes. The fact that everyone around me speaks in English, helps in a way. They didn’t force me to speak Hindi. So I put effort to learn and speak the language. I can understand but I still struggle in expressing myself in Hindi,” Vantur added.
