I grew up watching Bollywood films: Noureen DeWulf

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NEW DELHI - Indian origin Hollywood actress Noureen DeWulf, who has been featured on Maxim magazine’s Hot 100 list, is keen on doing Bollywood films as “it’ll be like going back to her roots”. She also wants to share screen space with ageless beauty Rekha.

“I love Bollywood. I grew up watching Bollywood films like ‘Sita Aur Geeta’, ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram’, ‘Coolie’ and so many. There is a lot of talent there and if an opportunity is there and presented in a right format, I’d love to do a Bollywood film,” Noureen told IANS in a telephonic interview from Los Angeles.

“If it’s an interesting role, I’ll certainly consider it. I’d love to do that because for me, it’ll be like going back to my roots. I have seen them over and over again. My parents are Indian and I feel a strong connection to those films,” said Noureen, who teamed up with singer-actress Jennifer Lopez in “The Back-Up Plan”.

The movie released in the US April 23 and it will hit Indian screens May 14.

Noureen was on Maxim magazine’s Hot 100 list as one of the most desirable women on the planet in 2007. And guess who is on the 26-year-old’s wish list?

“I’d love to work with Rekha. I like her. She is so beautiful and she is a great actress. I love (her) ‘Silsila’ a lot… I’ve watched it so many times,” said Noureen, who was last seen in the comedy “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard”.

“I am (also) a big fan of the actors out there like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan. Those two stood out with their acting. I think they have done some great work and I have watched a couple of their more recent films,” she added.

Language is no barrier for Noureen who hails from a Gujarati family.

“I can speak Hindi, Gujarati and Urdu… I am very comfortable with all the languages,” said the actress, who is known for her roles like in the Academy Award winning movie “West Bank Story” and “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”.

In Alan Poul’s romantic comedy, Noureen will be seen as Lopez’s employee and friend. The film also stars Alex O’Loughlin, Melissa McCarthy and Eric Christian Olsen.

Throwing light on her character, Noureen said: “I play a character called Daphne in the film who works in the pet store owned by Jennifer Lopez’s character. We have a funny relationship (in the movie). It’s very irreverent - we have a boss-employee relationship but I am also her friend.

“Eric Christian Olsen also works in the pet store and so he and I both serve a lot of comic relief in the film…It’s a very sweet love story. A very fun romantic comedy,” she added.

Noureen’s other credits include “American Dreamz”, “The Comebacks”, and “Ocean’s Thirteen” and recurring roles on TV shows “90210″ and “Girlfriends”.

Her future projects are “The Taqwacores” and TV show “Hawthorne”.

“I have been here (Hollywood) for eight years and I’ve worked with really great people…at the end of every production I made some great friends,” said the actress who has Mickey Rourke, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Baz Luhrmann and Naomi Watts on her Hollywood wishlist.

“I’ve learnt a lot from my co-stars too. I’ve definitely learnt from them and if from nothing else, from their presence and personality. I am one of the greatest admirers of my co-stars and whosoever I work with,” she added.

(Robin Bansal can be contacted at robin.b@ians.in)