Why R Balki sent Akshara Haasan to Delhi

Akshara Haasan might be the daughter of two stalwarts — Kamal Haasan and Sarika — who have worked extensively in Hindi films, but the 23-year-old (who has grown up in Chennai) had to take special diction classes for her Bollywood debut Shamitabh.

Akshara Haasan might be the daughter of two stalwarts — Kamal Haasan and Sarika — who have worked extensively in Hindi films, but the 23-year-old (who has grown up in Chennai) was never very comfortable with the language.

Akshara-Haasan

However, shooting for her first Bollywood film, Shamitabh, seems to have been a learning experience for her in that regard. Since she is set to make her acting debut with a Hindi film, for her role, Akshara attended training sessions for over a month to perfect her diction.

To make sure she had the best help possible, the director of the film, R Balki, roped in the expertise of popular Delhi-based theatre director NK Sharma. "Balki sent Akshara to Delhi so she could train under Sharma. She spent 40 days there learning the basics of the language," says a source.

Akshara Haasan on the sets of Shamitabh with Dhanush and Amitabh Bachchan.

In the film, Akshara will share screen space with south actor Dhanush and veteran star Amitabh Bachchan. Incidentally, when Dhanush made his Bollywood debut opposite Sonam Kapoor with Raanjhanaa (2013), even he had to attend Hindi lessons.

Although Balki remained unavailable for a comment, his spokesperson confirmed the news, saying, "Akshara was a fast learner and completed her [Hindi diction] course well in time."