At just 19 years, Kruthika Jayakumar is a first-year student of journalism at Mount Carmel College and is living out her dream of being an actress too. The young girl who debuted with Drushyam in Telugu followed it up with Preetham Gubbi’s Boxer that marks her debut in Kannada. “Boxer is special to me because it has given me a role different from the usual. It helps me showcase my strong points. The entire focus is on actor Dhananjay and me. With this, I can show the audience that I too can do a good job. I also feel Boxer is a perfect debut I really liked the script. I hope this film gives me a red carpet welcome into Sandalwood,” she states.
Still known as the Drushyam girl, she says, playing a blind girl in her Kannada debut was a big responsibility. “I think it is a blessing because not everybody gets an opportunity to play such a role in the beginning of their career.”
She says it was not easy, though.
“The character required her to do some homework so she visited a blind school and interacted with the students there. “I was there for 2 days and they showed me how to use the stick and how they trail. To gain a better understanding, I walked around in my house and my neighbourhood blind-folded,” she says.
While her friends at college are excited about her Kannada film, she says is tensed as the release date nears. “Since it is my first film, I don’t know the pulse of the audience here yet. I am confident about the script and the way the whole team including director Preetham Gubbi, actor Dhananjay and the music director V Harikrishna have worked towards making a good film.”
Kruthika, who has decided to wait a while before taking on the next Kannada movie, is currently busy with a Telugu film Rojulu Marayi produced by Dil Raju.