For female actors who are in the long haul in the film industry, it’s a wise choice to make their debut in Kannada cinema. Actors who have started in Sandalwood have gone on to attain fame and success across the country. From Saroja Devi to Jayanthi to actors such as Juhi Chawla, Deepika Padukone, Ramya, Meghana Raj and Sanjjanaa Galrani—all of them have begun their stints in Kannada cinema, before becoming household names. Going by the rate of success, the trend has become a sureshot success formula for many. The newer crop includes names such as Rashmika Mandanna, Shraddha Srinath, Nabha Natesh, Manvitha Kamath, Samyuktha Hegde and Ruksar Dhillion.
Rashmika became an overnight sensation with Kirik Party, and has gone on to create a cult following for herself in Telugu cinema. She entered the Telugu industry with Chalo and shot to fame with Geetha Govindam opposite Vijay Devarakonda and followed this up with Devadas. She is presently awaiting two Telugu releases, Dear Comrade and Bheeshma, and Pogaru in Kannada cinema. Reports indicate that she may be entering Tamil cinema as well with a film co-starring Karthi.
Meanwhile, U-Turn heroine Shraddha has been enjoying quite a few successful years with films in all four South languages. “I look at it all as acting opportunities, and don’t want to differentiate in terms of language,” she says. Her role in the Tamil film, Vikram Vedha, made her a household name in the Tamil industry. The actor also has a couple more Tamil films like K-13 and Maara in her kitty with her big film likely to be Ajith’s tentatively titled AK-59. In the Telugu industry, she will make her debut with Gowtham Tinnanuri-directed Jersey, which has her paired opposite Nani. She is also excited about her entry into Bollywood where she debuted with Milan Talkies, directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia. “The truth is, we are not spoilt for choice, when it comes to good scripts. We cannot keep waiting forever for good stories to come by. When work comes to us, we accept it, regardless of the language,” she adds.
Nabha, who started her career with Shivarajkumar-starrer Vajrakaya, is a growing name in Telugu cinema. She says, “I didn’t plan it this way, but the work that has come by me has taken me places, literally. I am a Kannadiga and grew up watching Kannada films. Hailing from a theatre background, I look for strength in my role and story, apart from respectable names in the cast and crew. This is something I have found in Telugu cinema.” While shooting for her second film, Lee, she got an offer for a Telugu film which led to her taking the plunge. She made a mark with Nannu Dochukunduvate, and is now shooting for Puri Jagannath-directed iSmart Shankar opposite Ram Pothineni and l ooks set for Ravi Teja’s upcoming project.
Also in line for cross-industry success is Manvitha. The RJ-turned-actor, who made her debut with Kendasampige, is set to enter the Marathi film industry with filmmaker Nandita Yadav’s upcoming directorial. Similarly, Rukshar entered Sandalwood with Run Anthony and is now getting busy in Telugu cinema, apart from foraying into Bollywood with Bhangra Paa Le.
The key to succeeding across languages, says Shraddha, is ‘versatility’. “Filmmakers don’t look at me as someone who is from a certain region. We all look Indian and our films are shot for Indian audiences,” she adds.
It is also about the first impression that an actor makes in any industry, according to Nabha. “People liked me in my first film and this got me a big break in Telugu. There are offers for Tamil films as well and I am looking to start with the best,” she says. Shraddha agrees, after all, it was the hugely successful U-Turn that helped her bag work in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam film industries. The Bollywood film she bagged was on account of Vikram Vedha, she notes. “It also helped that I am fluent in Hindi, especially because I play an Uttar Pradesh girl in the film. Vikram Vedha’s national popularity also helped,” she concludes.