FORMER Bahrain resident and Miss Sri Lanka 2006, Jackie Fernandez, is set to make her acting debut in a Bollywood film next year.

The former Sacred Heart School student will play the role of Princess Jasmine in a Hindi blockbuster based on the animated Disney classic Aladdin.

She will star alongside Bollywood icons Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt.

Mr Bachchan will play the genie, while Mr Dutt stars as the villain Jaffer and upcoming actor Riteish Deshmukh will play Aladdin.

"I'm really excited about working on it because it will be the first of its kind in Bollywood," she told the GDN yesterday.

"The special effects will be done by the same people who worked on some of the Harry Potter, Matrix and Spiderman movies."

The 22-year-old star believes her rigorous schedule, which involves training at the gym from 6am everyday followed by classes in kickboxing and the traditional Indian dance form Kathak, is a stepping stone to success and says she feels confident around the camera.

She has also been taking acting classes for the past three months, as well as Hindi classes in preparation for her role.

"I think I'm pretty used to having the camera around now after I did segments on TV shows in Sri Lanka and even as a model, so I'm not nervous about them anymore," she said.

"I think what intimidates me more is that I'll be working with these established actors, who are huge stars and I'll pronounce words wrong because of my accent."

The model-turned-actress, who has been living in Bandra, Mumbai, for the past five months didn't rule out acting in an Arabic film in future, but said she would concentrate more on India for the moment.

She also said that although Sri Lankan cinema was on the rise, she was more attracted to the Indian film industry.

"There's so much happening in India now-adays and career-wise, it's definitely the place to be," said Ms Fernandez.

"Whether it's acting or modelling, Bollywood is where it's at."

She returned to Mumbai last night after a brief holiday in Bahrain and will begin shooting for the film in the next two weeks.

The film will be directed by Sujoy Ghosh and is set in modern-day India.

It is due to be released by next October following post-production to coincide with the Hindu festival of lights Diwali.