By Sandeep Bhattacharjee, IANS

Starlet Nisha Kothari has come a long way - from the corridors of Delhi's Dayal Singh College to the dream world of Bollywood.

Currently here to promote her upcoming movie "Shiva", the actress is thrilled that her mentor Ram Gopal Varma, who launched her with "James", has directed her finally.

"I am very excited that Ramuji has directed this movie. I always wanted to work under him. Although he gave me the first break in Bollywood, he did not direct the film. 'Shiva' is our first movie together," Nisha told IANS.

In her upcoming movie, she plays a crime reporter who falls in love with a police officer played by Mohit Ahlawat.

On being queried about her homework for the role, the actress said: "I did not do much homework. I only followed the director's instructions."

Nisha worked with Mohit in "James" and says she shares a great comfort level with the actor and was quite happy with the fact that they were working together again.

She also played a cameo in Varma's critically acclaimed "Sarkar" starring Amitabh Bachchan. The actress says she could not believe her luck when she was offered the role.

"Prior to 'James', I had worked in two South Indian movies. The first one was a Tamil movie called 'Jay Jay' with R. Madhavan and the other was a Telugu flick called 'Madhyanam Hatya'.

"Ramuji noticed me in those films and offered me a cameo in 'Sarkar'," said Nisha who has no qualms playing the glam doll roles as she feels it is something films cannot do without.

Although her bag is not full of offers, the actress wants to do meaningful roles.

Right now she has another Varma flick, "Go", opposite newcomer Gautam.