Puja Jatinder Bedi: 'After her make-up, I couldn't watch Julia suffer and cry!' 

There's no deficit of praise, no dearth of gush - jobs from either side. Julia Bliss, Russian actress who showcases her acting abilities in Ghost, has been showering encomiums on her director Puja Jatinder Bedi at every given opportunity. And the sentiment is being reciprocated in full measure by Bedi too.

Reveals Bedi, "One of the requirements of the actress who would be playing the central role is that she had to be athletic and had to do a lot of wire-work. Julia had done a Tamil film already and I found that she was good with expressions. After I met her, I told her that I wanted to do a scene with her climbing walls and hanging up the ceiling upside down… and she was fine with all of that."

Adds she "I'd say that Julia's make-up was like a tapasya. Nothing short of that. I've only known legends like Kamal Haasan and Mammootty who would show this kind of patience. As a director, it was very painful for me to sit and watch Julia after her make-up. She would cry because she could not eat for hours. The make-up took about four hours. With the kind of limited budget that we had, she had to sit for about 16 hours with make-up on! She'd be crying, wanting to tear off that make-up. And I'd tell her that that the end, it would be worth all the trouble taken. I've been proven true."

Concludes Bedi, "I'm very proud of her performance in my film. She's done a fantastic job. There is a crucification scene in Ghost which was very difficult for her to do. But she managed to do it beautifully. And I'd say that at the end, she's sure to steal the show."