I was asked to sleep with the producers: Krishna Monala

Says Krishna Monala, a young Hyderabadi model, who encountered the casting couch in Bollywood Krishna Monala is not your average twenty-something-year-old. He claims to be a nerd, but we beg to differ. After all, he is one of the few Hyderabadis to be on the cover of a health magazine. In conversation with Hyderabad Times, he tells us the story.

"I grew up in Alabama in the US. When I came back three years ago, I weighed about 88 kgs," said Krishna, who was asked to lose weight when he tried to enter the modelling world. After working out three hours a day, he got the desired results and got a fresh portfolio made. It's only then that the opportunity came his way.

Post the cover shoot, Krishna started getting many calls from producers in Mumbai. But his excitement soon turned to horror when he had to encounter the "dark side of Bollywood". "When I met these producers in Mumbai, they asked me to do things that I just wasn't willing and ready to." So in simple words, you were asked to sleep with them? "Yes, they told me stories about how others, as in big stars, have gone through with the same thing and look where they are now... But I couldn't get myself to start my career like that."

A shocked Krishna confesses, "I thought it would require hard work. I had dance moves and monologues prepared... and this happened! I knew the casting couch existed, but what startled me was the fact that they are so blatant about it. Bollywood is a really dark place."

Ask him about how he got bitten by the acting bug and he says, "I was the only Indian kid in my high school in Alabama. I needed a role model, and I really like Hrithik Roshan who I consider the only actor in Bollywood. I wanted to be like him and dance like him. Ever since I can remember, I have always wanted to be in the movies." And soon, he went to an acting school in New York. "After the course, we're introduced to film agents, but they always take on people with experience," says Krishna. So what now? "Well, I have to start somewhere. I didn't want to start in Mumbai doing things I didn't like. So , I've decided to try my luck in Tollywood. I did get three offers, but two of them were B-grade films, while the other was a stereotypical love story. One of the movies was actually called "Lover Boy", exclaims Krishna, who is waiting for the right script to come by. Meanwhile, he is all set to take on the role of an assistant director for director Nandini Reddy. "She's my mother's friend and when we got in touch with her, she asked me to be one of the assistant directors for her forthcoming flick with actor Siddarth," he says.

When he is not rehearsing monologues or working out at the gym, Krishna is an animation student, who is also qualified in martial arts. "If my acting career never takes off, I can always be a kick boxer. But then I'll have to say goodbye to my modelling career as I can't shoot with a black eye! But on a serious note, animation is my back-up plan. On the brighter side, I'd still be connected to movies because today, every comic book is being made into a film," he says.