Aisha girl Amrita Puri, who is playing the lead in upcoming film Blood Money opposite Kunal Khemu, says convincing her banker father for a Bollywood career was tough. "I don't come from a filmy background. It took me two years to convince my father. That was the hard part because I did not want to do it without his support. Once he agreed it took me good three years of struggle to reach where I am today," Amrita said.

The days of struggle are still fresh in Amrita's mind as she awaits the response to her second release this Friday. "I have spent a lot of time hopping from one audition to another. Sometimes the crowd would spill on the road and we would be standing and waiting for our call. This phase is very difficult. I have a lot of respect for newcomers because you do need a lot of courage for this," Amrita says.

Her role of a middle class girl trying to break into the world of rick people in Aisha generated a lot of praise but it did not immediately translate into a good role. Amrita sat at home for almost a year after that. "When I was doing Aisha. I was getting a lot of supporting roles but I told myself that my next film has to be a lead because it is a different experience when you play the lead. It gives you a lot more responsibility. I did not want to settle for something which did not convince me."

Amrita, 24, plays a sweet wife, whose husband's involvement in illegal diamond trade takes a toll on their relationship in Blood Money. The youngster says that her character in Blood Money goes thruogh various changes throughout the film. "I have a very nice character graph. I play a very sweet girl. She is a very black and white character but her personality goes through a change when Kunal gets involved in the diamond trade. It affects their relationship and she gets isolated and withdrawn but she is a strong woman. I enjoyed doing the role." Amrita says working with Kunal, who has the experience of some 20 films behind him, was fun. "He has been doing films since he was very young. His craft is very sharp. He was very helpful on the sets."