After the likes of Maryam Zakaria, Scarlett Wilson and Kristina Akheeva, yet another foreign actress, Khatera Hakimi is all set to make her debut in Tollywood. The actress, who is an Afghan-American from New York, moved to India two years ago and is now awaiting the release of her upcoming Hindi film, Budget Trip. And she'll soon be seen in a Telugu film titled, Womaniya, which is being directed by Praneeth Babu. "It's a film about five girls who go on a road trip and I am playing the role of an actress in the film. It's all about finding yourself and inner freedom in this mean world. The shoot has been amazing so far and I even got to shoot a folk song in the hinterlands of Telangana and another one in the middle of the sea. Initially, when I came to Mumbai, I didn't think I would act in a Telugu film; however, Praneeth was quite persistent and I finally said yes nearly four months after he first got in touch with me. It's been a great journey so far," Khatera says, confessing that her first name means 'a memory' in Farsi.

Ask her why she chose to move to India to pursue a career in acting here and she says, "I think acting was always on my mind. I grew up watching Hindi classics and I remember myself being enamoured with the likes of Rekha and Madhuri Dixit. Back then, everyone around me used to find it odd that I was obsessed about Hindi films, but I didn't give up my dream of becoming an actress. I even took up classes in Bharatanatyam and Bollywood dance because it was so expressive." Soon after she moved to India, she found herself struggling to find a breakthrough and she describes it as "natural process since everyone has to go through it." "I am a social butterfly and have made plenty of friends in the industry; however, I can't ask anyone for favours. I love the challenge, otherwise I wouldn't be here. I am in love with India and its myriad of experiences. There are times when I just take off on a solo vacation without any plan and I find all that quite exhilarating," she signs off.