Mumbai, March 13 (IANS) Tamil actress Flora Saini, arrested in Chennai earlier this week for allegedly forging documents to travel abroad, was a struggling actress in Bollywood before she shifted her base to south India. The US Consulate in Chennai handed over Flora alias Asha Saini, 29, and her assistant Sri Latha, 29, to the police Tuesday when documents the two women submitted for visas were found to be forged.

It is not yet known why Saini wanted to go to the US. Latha is said to have posed as Saini’s make-up woman.

Five years ago, Saini was also denied a visa by the British consulate in Mumbai to go to London for shooting of a movie “Kabhi Subah, Kabhi Shyam”, produced by Gujarati actress Ragini.

In Mumbai, she achieved a modicum of fame when she acted as a leading lady opposite singer-actor Sonu Nigam in “Love in Nepal”, directed by Rajat Mukherjee.

The movie received a lukewarm response at the box-office, which dashed Flora’s hopes of hitting the big-time.

The lacklustre box-office performance of “Love in Nepal” also dashed singer Sonu Nigam’s aspirations to branch out into acting, although the acting bug bites him even today.

Flora was also featured in a key role in “Bharata Bhagya Vidhata” alongside Shatrugan Sinha and Chandrachur Singh. Ashok Tyagi directed the movie.

“Love in Nepal” and “Bharata Bhagya Vidhata” were released in 2004-05.

When her career made no headway in Bollywood, Flora, originally from New Delhi, shifted to Chennai to try her luck in south Indian movies.

Although she acted in a few Tamil and Telugu movies, her career never took off there either.

• Chandrachur Singh
• Sonu
• Ashok