Actress Vidhatri Bandi Recalls Performing For Jennifer Aniston At UCLA

MUMBAI- Actress Vidhatri Bandi recalled being selected to perform for ‘Friends’ star Jennifer Aniston during a masterclass at UCLA in Los Angeles, an experience she said helped her overcome doubts about her abilities as an actor.

Bandi was the only Indian from her batch to be chosen to perform for Aniston. She was selected from a class of 45 students by her professors Andrea Bandewald and Nikki Deloach.

Bandi said the pressure was particularly intense because she had to perform first, and seeing Aniston, whom she had grown up watching as Rachel Green, made the moment even more surreal.

“I remember how overwhelming it felt knowing I had to go first. There’s a different kind of pressure when you’re the one who has to set the tone, to walk into a room full of people and be the first person to take that leap. And then I looked up and saw Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green?!) sitting there. Someone I had grown up watching is now watching me. For a few seconds, it felt almost impossible to process. But I took a breath, reminded myself why I was there, and started. And the moment I said my first line, everything else just disappeared. It was surreal.”

Bandi also received notes from Aniston, who appreciated her work and gave her a hug.

“Just four months earlier, I was questioning everything. Was acting really for me? Would I ever make it in this industry? Was I good enough? Pretty enough? Did I have what it takes? Like so many actors, I was carrying a hundred insecurities and a hundred unanswered questions. And then four months later, I was sitting in Los Angeles, at UCLA, chosen out of 45 students to perform a scene for Jennifer Aniston,” she explained. (IANS)