DANCING INTO THE LIGHT

ACTRESS Elli AvrRam TRACES A DECADE IN BOLLYWOOD IN A FREEWHEELING CHAT ABOUT DREAMS, DESTINY, AND DANCING TO APPEASE HER SOUL

- Sonali Velinker Kamat

IF EVER THERE was abook that shouldn’t be judged by its cover, it would be hers. Beyond Elli AvrRam’s glittering dance costumes and smoking-hot shimmying, there is depth and tranquillity a staggering stillness and simplicity that takes me quite by surprise. What was intended as an hour-long interview turns intoa freewheeling three-hour deep dive into not just this life, but past lives too.

Of Swedish-Greek origin, Elli is anything but your typical Bollywood heroine. In innumerable interviews prior to this one, she has spoken of her deep love for India achildhood dream that she embraced aged five, and spent her early years working towards. I discovered India and Bollywood as achild. I was around five years old when first got introduced to Bollywood on Swedish television. They were showing snippets from songs, where the actresses were twirling in these glittery lehengas and Iwas like, Wow! What is this?!” That is when my parents told me that this is called Bollywood and itis the film industry ina country called India. Since then, ithas been a dream forme. Every time I saw anything associated with India even seeing a Sikh in the street I got very excited.” It wasn’t common at the time, so the fact that her godparents went to Goa for their honeymoon, compounds her connection with the country. My father’s brother and his wife are both very much in love with India. Growing up, I was extremely close to them. They are my godparents; they baptised me. Their house was always decorated in an Indo-Western fusion style... they used to play sitar and Sufi music in their home. remember the aroma of agarbattis from way back then,” Elli recalls.