The
enormously
talented
Anaitha
Nair
who
is
24
years
old
and
played
a
17
year
old
terminally
ill
girl
in
the
film
Aashayein
seems
to
share
an
eerie
bonding
with
actor
John
Abraham.
Like
John,
Anaitha
is
half
Malayali
and
half
Parsi.
And
out
of
the
handful
of
feature
films
she
has
done
so
far,
3
have
been
with
John,
the
latest
being
a
role
in
the
Hindi
remake
of
Kaakha
Kaakha.
“I
can"t
explain
it," the
talkative
and
chirpy
bubbly
Bangalorian
brims
over
with
excitement
as
she
mulls
over
the
coincidence
of
bumping
into
John
so
often
in
her
career.
“I
was
in
Aashayein,
Abbas
Tyrewala"s
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi
and
now
Kaakha
Kaakha.
It
isn"t
as
if
I
planned
being
with
John.
It
just
happened."Shooting
in
London
for
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi
proved
a
blessing.
It
was
her
first
visit
to
the
city
and
she
took
to
it
like
a
fish
to
the
water.
In
London,
Anaitha
bumped
into
the
man
she
is
now
engaged
to.
“Yes,
I
met
Akhil
Nair
in
London.
We
were
in
school
together,
then
we
lost
touch.
We
met
in
London
after
years
and
then
we
kept
in
touch
through
e-mail.
Now
we"re
engaged.
We"re
getting
married
next
year.
He
is
a
shippy,
though
fortunately
onshore,
so
he
won"t
be
away
for
long
periods.
We
all
know
stories
of
men
who
visit
several
ports,"
twinkles
Anaitha,
who
describes
her
parents
in
Bangalore
as
“totally
chilled
out."
“They
never
stopped
me
from
doing
anything.
I
was
always
interested
in
acting.
When
I
expressed
a
desire
to
get
into
movies,
they
were
fine
by
it."
When
Anaitha
arrived
in
Mumbai
four
years
ago,
she
had
no
idea
what
she
was
going
to
do.
“Luckily
I
had
lots
of
relatives
in
Mumbai.
So
I
never
felt
alone."
Another
bizarre
coincidence
in
the
life
of
this
anything-can-happen
girl?
Check
this
out.
“Three
of
my
films
so
far
have
come
to
me
by
default.
I
was
not
the
first
choice
for
Chak
De.
A
girl
called
Rushita
was
to
do
the
role.
She
backed
out
at
the
last
minute.
For
Aashayein,
Ayesha
Takiya
was
offered
the
role
first.
Even
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi
had
gone
to
VJ
Juhi
first."
In
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi,
Anaitha
plays
a
South
Indian
girl
named
Sushma
Subramaniam.
“But
everyone
calls
my
character
Sushi,
as
in
the
fish.
I
love
my
character
though
it
isn"t
a
central
one."
Pragmatic
down-to-earth
and
sporting
Anaitha
honestly
admits
she
is
not
cut
out
to
be
the
conventional
leading
lady.
“I
am
not
glamorous
enough.
When
Nagesh
Kukunoor
came
to
me
with
the
role
in
Aashayein
I
was
zapped.
I
remember
I
was
Class
10
when
I
had
seen
Nagesh"s
Hyderabad
Blues."
For
the
role
of
the
terminally
ill
girl,
Anaitha
had
to
shave
her
head
and
shed
the
kilos.
“I
had
no
problems
going
bald
for
the
role.
Losing
about
5-6
kilos
was
not
difficult
either.
But
growing
my
hair
back
was
more
difficult
than
I
had
thought.
In
fact,
when
I
met
Abbas
Tyrewala
for
Jhootha
Hi
Sahi
I
was
bald."
That
explains
the
instant
bonding.