By Joginder Tuteja, October 5, 2010 - 11:36 IST

Newbie Neha Sharma would be making her Bollywood debut opposite Emraan Hashmi in soon-to-be-released Crook. However, she isn't someone who is new to the arc lights though. She has been on the film circuit for a while after doing a couple of films in Telugu as the leading lady. However, now that she has worked in a Hindi film, she knows that it would take require something remarkable from down South to pull her back there.

"Hindi is my forte and I had started making up my mind about the journey, I wanted to take once I was through with my Telugu films", says Neha who chose to wait for a while before signing her first Bollywood film, "I knew there and then that I didn't want to do more of Telugu films. Language was such a problem and it all turned out to be really challenging and tough. My first film by itself was very daunting and though I had offers, I didn't take them because I wasn't too sure."

For the uninitiated, Neha had enjoyed a dream debut as she had worked opposite South heart throb Ravi Charan Teja in Chirutha (2007). The film was also the launch pad of Ravi and was directed by Puri Jagannath who had a Pokkiri (which was later remade as Wanted in Hindi) behind him.

"Honestly, this film too presented me with its own benefits as it was opened up an altogether different world for me". Neha is candid enough to admit that, "I travelled a lot, did a lot of dancing and action. In that sense, it was all so brilliant and one thing that I knew was that I always wanted to act now. Everyone worked so hard to do that film and I couldn't have asked for a better start."

However, language played truant and though Neha knew that while the medium of cinema was what she wanted to explore even further, she also wanted to step her feet into Bollywood now.

"Now that I have worked in Crook, I know that this is far more satisfying. I enjoy doing a Hindi film more than South flicks. After all, the entire language factor is such bliss, you can understand the emotions that you have to bring on screen and know for sure what people around you are talking about. It's a whole new experience and I am convinced that, this is what I really want to do in future too", Neha says with her chin up, "If at all I have to work in a South film now, it has to bring with it a really great role now."

Till then, it is pretty apparent that Bollywood stays on to be a home for Neha.