You must have seen her in various ad campaigns, post which she was a journalist for sometime, and then moved on to making her debut in the Tamil film 'Chikku Bukku' in 2010. Currently working on her Kannada debut film 'Raktaksha', Preetika Rao, whose debut Tollywood film, 'Priyudu', has just hit theatres on December 3, is hopeful of a bright future in Tinselville.
“Hopefully by next year, I should be making an entry in Bollywood and Malayalam films as well. As an actor, it feels great to be working in different films and reaching out to regional audiences without language being a barrier. And since I was a journalist, that experience has helped me understand this media better.”
Having modelled for nearly 50 ads, her decision to act in films didn’t come as a surprise. What came as a surprise was that unlike other models who dropped out of school and college to pursue their careers, Preetika preferred to thumb down film offers to complete her education before getting into films.
“My dream was to become a model and I have been lucky enough to have endorsed ad campaigns not just in India, but in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Indonesia as well. But after a while, modelling became stagnant for me. Even though I was offered roles in Telugu films since I was in Class X, I did not take up anything because I wanted to complete my education first. So, after modelling, I became a journalist, which was a great experience because I love to write.”
Preetika doesn’t mind being compared to her sister Amrita Rao, who will complete 10 years in the film industry.
“I have learnt a lot from her experience, which has given me a great insight on how the industry works. But I believe that every film has its own experience and I will get that as I progress from one film to another,” says the vivacious actor.
Preetika doesn’t want to be typecast as a heroine who does a certain kind of cinema.
“When I did my Tamil film, the role I played was of a traditional girl. After which I was typecasted and people from Tollywood told me that they can’t imagine me doing a glamorous role — which is ridiculous because I am from Mumbai. My character in the film is a beautiful balance between the girl-next-door who has her values in place, but can also look smart and glamorous. So, I hope that I am not stereotyped anymore because in future I would want to do a Kareena Kapoor from 'Jab We Met' and Aishwarya Rai from 'Devdas',” she signs off.