Southern cinema more competitive than Bollywood: Jyotii Sethi

Chennai: Actress Jyotii Sethi is the latest actress to make a splash in Telugu filmdom with her recent debut 'Where is Vidya Balan'. The Punjabi girl says she is extremely happy with the warm reception the industry has given her.

"I was sure that my film won't go unnoticed. But I seriously never expected this kind of a response from the audience. The overwhelming feedback has been very satisfying and I feel the industry has given me a warm welcome," Sethi told IANS.

Jyotii is the latest addition to the list of actresses from Punjab in Telugu filmdom such as Simran Kaur Mundi and Sruthi Sodhi.

"I never wanted to be an actress. After I finished my Master's in English, I had decided to become a lecturer. Somebody told me that I look good and I should consider getting into films. I posted some pictures from a photo-shoot on my Facebook page, and the offers started pouring in," she said.

Realising that her prospects would be limited if she stayed in Punjab, Jyotii shifted base to Mumbai.

"I've already worked in a Punjabi film, but it's yet to release. Two years ago, I was called for an audition in the south. Things didn't work the first time. Two years later, I was called again and this time I landed the opportunity to work in 'Where is Vidya Balan'," she said.

Her journey so far hasn't been as smooth as she expected it to be.

"When I was preparing to get into the industry, I wasn't aware of the struggle and various things that could affect someone's career," she said.

"Just when I was starting to think everything was going so smoothly, my first Punjabi film was shelved due to some financial problems. These initial hiccups bothered me, but I realised there was no going back," she added.

Open to working in all film industries, Jyotii feels the southern cinema world is more competitive than Bollywood.

Asked about the roles she would like to pick going forward, she said: "It's too early to think about the kind of roles I want to pick. Since this is the beginning of my career, I'll concentrate on working as much as possible.

"Of course, I want to be a part of meaningful films. I think it's not wise to aspire to become Kangana Ranaut or Priyanka Chopra so early in my career."

Jyotii has already signed another Telugu project, details of which she chose not to reveal.