Jane Kataria – The Russian Expat living life in chennai

Jane Kataria, a Russian expat, model and actress moved to Chennai two years ago with her family. Since then, Jane has actively taken part in modelling gigs for several advertisements and competitions in Tamil Nadu. Jane is now an RJ, a TV host, a stylist, a belly dance and ballet instructor and a fitness model as well.

We wanted to get in on the nitty-gritty of how this successful Russian mom has made it so big in Chennai City and so we requested her to sit down with us for a short interview.

Here’s what Jane had to say.

Where are you from originally and how did you decide to move to Chennai and become an RJ?

I am originally from Moscow and I worked there as an RJ and VJ. My husband has Indian roots and he had to move here for work. So when I moved to Chennai to be with my husband, finding work in the same industry was a breeze as I was already experienced in the field.

Can you name a few countries you’ve been to, apart from India?

I’ve travelled quite a bit! I’ve lived in Canada, India, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation but I have also visited many places like Bulgaria, Egypt, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Singapore and Turkey.

Tell us more about your work with Chennai Live.

Well, I have my own show on the weekends and it’s called Expat Live. We feature a lot of guests that are quite like myself, generally people from abroad who have settled in India for work or family. We talk about their experiences here in the city.

What would you say is the most interesting experience you’ve had at Chennai Live?

I get to meet a lot of interesting people and hear a lot of amazing experiences on the show. One interview that stuck with me was with a person who had travelled around the world for 2 years in a car, transporting the car across even seas and oceans. I asked him how he managed to do this and he told me his car had a passport just like him! So he could get it across borders with him with no hassle. I found this fascinating!

Apart from working as an RJ, can you tell us more about what you do?

I spend a lot of time working for advertisements as a model. My 7 year old son is also a model here in Chennai and we’re happy to be working here. I’ve also made appearances in several Tamil movies, the recent one being Kanchana. I got to work with Raghav Lawrence for that movie.

I am also a belly dance and ballet instructor. I work at the Spring Boots studio which is a ballet school for young girls.

I have taken part in beauty pageants here and I find that often I am the only non-Indian face in the crowd, which is alright. I’ve participated in Miss South India. Apart from this, I attend many college events as a judge.

I am also proud to say that I have received an honourable doctorate for Arts from the Swami Vivekananda University.

That’s incredible! Tell us more about your love for fitness.

I am a fitness model and I have taken part in several all-India competitions. I’m happy to say that I’ve managed to win a silver medal as well for an all-India fitness competition.

How well are you able to cope with the language here in Tamil Nadu?

Well, I am fluent in Hindi, English, Russian and French. I am still learning Tamil and I hope I will be able to master it in the days to come. I find that it is one of the hardest languages I have ever had to learn.

Does the language gap affect your career in any way?

In a way, yes it does. I find it is hard to get into the movie industry here unless you can speak the language very well.

What do you like about the Tamil movie industry?

I am astonished at how self-sustaining the Tamil movie industry is. They don’t rely on Hollywood or Bollywood over here. Right from production and direction to casting and everything that comes with making a movie, the Tamil cinema industry has managed to create a niche for itself. Not many other regions can achieve this level of success as far as the film industry is concerned. You can find Tamil movies playing in cinemas across the globe. This is what fascinates me the most about Tamil movies.

Are you happy to stay here and continue working on your different projects in the years to come?

Most definitely! My children and my husband are well settled in here and they’re all quite independent. This gives me time to focus on my interests and my career. I am happy to be working here in Chennai.

We, at womenexclusive, are so happy to have had the opportunity to speak to Jane who is inspiring many expats to live out their dreams in India, even though they are far away from home.

 We wish Jane all the very best for her future endeavours and hope to keep seeing her on the big screen!