Amrita Puri makes her Bollywood debut as Shefali Thakkur, a behenji who Sonam Kapoor's Aisha helps go hip. The ongoing promos of Anil Kapoor's production show her moaning in pain at a salon, as even getting her eyebrows shaped is alien to her!

A newbie with no film connections, Amrita has been a model and has acted in plays. Her father, Aditya Puri is the HDFC Bank head honcho. So there were apprehensions when she announced that she wanted to act.

"Acting is not considered a long-term career option and there is no security. Dad did have his reservations," says the Mumbai girl who studied at Bombay Scottish School and St Xavier's College.

"But after completing my postgraduation in mass communications with a stint in an ad agency, when I told him that I wanted to follow my dream, he said:, 'If you are hellbent on it, follow it.' "

Aisha came her way through an SMS. "A friend of mine I had done theatre with, forwarded me a message informing me about the auditions for this particular character. I found it appealing and sent my portfolio photos to the casting agent. After a round of auditions, I was on! This was followed by grooming sessions in voice, diction and dialogue delivery."

For her first shot, she had to tuck into platefuls of spicy chopsuey at 6 am. "I had no clue how things operate on the sets. We had been shooting since early morning in New Delhi. Several takes later, I ended up eating so much chopsuey that I felt nauseous!"

About her character she says, "I am this simple character who morphs into this mod girl. So I had a chance to play two distinct personas in my first film."

She admits that she did have some doubts making her debut in a project that has Sonam Kapoor as the star with her father Anil and sister Rhea as producers. "I am the film's second lead and did think about it. But the role is such that wherever there is Aisha, there is Shefali. So I had no apprehensions about doing the film."

At the moment, Amrita is looking forward to the movie's release on August 6. "My family and friends are excited to see me on screen. Aisha is my first step in Bollywood and I hope to take many more such steps in it."