The first time Krystyna Devina Lason heard the script of Kannada serial Billi Hendthi (Fair Complexioned Girl), it felt like the story of her father, Michael Lason. Except, the protagonist here was a foreign girl who marries a Kannadiga boy, moves to India and has to fight resistance from the in-laws. Born to a Polish father and Indian mother, Lason was all too familiar with the trope. "My parents met when they were studying to be professors of French in Paris. They fell in love and got married. At the time, Poland was a communist country, and due to the volatile political atmosphere, it was difficult for young people, especially foreigners, to make a career," she says. The next best option was to settle in India. Although the plan was to eventually move back, Michael ended up working for the Polish consulate in India. The family would, however, visit Poland often.

Excited but unsure, Lason, 31, signed the script.