I signed 'Anegan' due to story, not Dhanush: Amyra Dastur

"Issaq" actress Amyra Dastur, who is making her southern debut with upcoming Tamil romantic-thriller "Anegan", says it was the film's story which attracted her, and not the film's lead actor Dhanush.

She says she didn't even know that Dhanush was her co-star when she signed the dotted line for the project.

"When I signed the film, I didn't know Dhanush was my co-star. I was drawn by the story and my character in particular. However, later when I was told Dhanush has been roped in, I felt happy that I will be working with a talented actor," Amyra told IANS.

Amyra was zeroed in for the project after director K.V. Anand saw her in "Issaq" trailers.

"I was approached after K.V. sir saw me in the trailer of 'Issaq'. I flew down to Chennai and tried some sample looks for him. We did a small narration, and I was eventually signed on," she said.

Having been brought up in Mumbai, Amyra never followed southern cinema.

"I had never watched a southern film until K.V. sir couriered me some Tamil films of 1980s and 1990s. He asked me to watch it as he believed it would help me to closely relate to the character I'm essaying in the film," said Amyra.

"I don't want to talk about my character, but I can say that it's a character in present day that sees love from a perspective of a south Indian," she added.

The 20-year old, currently shooting here, understands the cut-throat competition in the industry, but she isn't bogged down by it.

"It (competition) is there in all the industries. I think I should just concentrate on my work, choose different scripts and do interesting films", she said.

Quizzed if she wants to find a strong base in Tamil cinema, she said, "I want to see how things roll. I have just started to learn the language word by word. Let's see where my career takes me."

"Anegan" also features Karthik, Atul Kulkarni, Ashish Vidyarthi and Jagan. It is being produced by AGS Entertainments.