South African model Ilene Hamann makes Bollywood debut in Pooja Bhatt’s Rog which comes out this Friday, January 7. Ilene is the first white Afrikaans-speaking actress in Bollywood. Though not too famous back home, Hamann appeared in a few South African editions and was offered a role in Rog (Desease) after Bhatt saw her picture on a magazine cover.

“Pooja saw me on the cover of a magazine and decided to cast me. Maya’s character is very similar to my personality --- a person who starts at the bottom of the advertising industry and works her up. Her murder investigation forms the center of the film,” SmasHits quoted the model-turned-actress.

But being a white Bollywood actress from South Africa is not the only generator of interest. 20-year-old model, who was two months pregnant when she was shooting for the movie, has also caused a stir with having a baby out of wedlock.

“How come nobody asks us this question in South Africa or anywhere else in the world?” Ilene asked a reporter who wanted to know why she had decided to have a baby out of marriage when she could have a career in Hindi films, reports The Times of India. Hamann, who grew up in a more democratic environment of South Africa, was, probably, unaware that in Bollywood, an actress, no matter how popular, rarely, if ever, remains successful after marriage, and that Indian society remains very conservative and critical about “illegitimate” children.

Ilene Hamann, a child of Portuguese mom and Dutch dad, was born and brought up in South Africa. She started her career with photography but soon her gorgeous looks induced modeling offers.