Avantika Shetty is living in the excitement of Rangitaranga, the film that marked her Sandalwood debut. And now, she’s just as excited for Rajaratha, which is finally releasing this week. And since this is a bilingual film, Avantika will be making her Tollywood debut too. Avantika says that Rajaratha is an important film due to the efforts people have taken into seeing that it hits theatres. “There is a lot of hardwork and sacrifice gone into Rajaratha by the team - everyone had the best intentions for the film. The expectations are high because it is a film by the makers of Rangitaranga,” she says.
Rajaratha is Avantika’s fourth film, and she says that playing the role of Megha was a new experience for her. The film revolves around a bus journey with Rajaratha (Puneeth Rajkumar) narrating the story to the audience. He tells audience’s about Abhi (Nirup Bhandari) and Megha, played by Avantika, and their love story. “Since Megha is Abhi’s love interest, I get a little more screen space than other characters,” she laughs.
Could Avantika connect with Megha in real life? “She is fresh out of college - a desirable, goody-good girl, who is very lovable and fun loving. In reality, I am like Sandhya of Rangitaranga than Megha. But the latter has got into my system now, so I have pretty much started thinking and acting like her. I would not wear the clothes Megha does either. I never choose pink all the time. But these days, whenever I go shopping, my sister asks me why I’ve been picking out pink clothes. She even said I have now become a ‘typical girl’. Megha has made me love pink. But one thing about Megha that I believe I also follow is that I live in the present,” she says.
Avantika says that working with the Rangitaranga team, including director Anup Bhandari and actor Nirup Bhandari, was a breeze. With Rajaratha, I got close to Anup, which was not the case when I did Rangitaranga. I used to hang out a lot with Nirup and Radhika Chetan. My bond with Anup has grown now. He is my guardian angel. Sometimes, when I worry, I look out for him. And when he is around, I feel my mother is around to take care of me. That is the vibe I share with him.
Avantika says that apart from content and execution, a good team is very important, and claims the Rajaratha crew is one of the best examples. “From the light boy, makeup to the actors and technicians - nobody said that they were doing an Anup Bhandari film. They say, this is ‘our’ film. The sense of belonging is so much that everybody put their best foot forward,” says Avantika. She signs off saying, “Rajaratha’s journey has almost come to an end, and it was beautiful and emotional. I want my career to be filled with such projects.”