‘There is no shortcut to my success’

Akanksha Mansurkar, who debuted with Kannada film 'Olave Mandara', talks about her career plans.
‘There is no shortcut to my success’

Akanksha Mansurkar's debut movie 'Olave Mandara' had fetched her enough laurel to get her 'Dashamukha' and later 'Devi'. Now, she will portray a prominent role in Sumana Kittur's upcoming flick, 'Edegarike'. “I was overwhelmed and excited when I got to know that the director is a lady. Having done so many commercials and so much of work, I have never come across a female director. This movie is going to be extremely close to my heart because Sumana understood me very well and there was great coordination between us. I want the film to click well with the audience as she has put in a lot of effort,” says Akanksha.

Being the only female in the men's world of 'Edegarike', the role demanded a lot of courage and performance from her, especially because she was working with talented actors like Atul Kulkarni and Aditya. The film, which  has no songs, showcases the dark side of the world.

The actress is equally excited about her other film, 'Devi' starring, Madhu Bangarappa and Sneha Ullal. Having signed the film, before 'Edegarike', it has delayed its shooting. "The delay worries me especially when you have given a good performance and there is confidence that the movie will do good for you, but then everything comes to a halt,” says Akanksha, adding, "Nevertheless, Kannada audience have seen my performance in 'Olave Mandare', which also took a long time to release. But when it came out, it gave me the result and I felt excellent. I am hoping the same with 'Devi'."

Coming from Dubai and based in Mumbai, the actress is currently doing only Kannada films. But she is also eyeing other industries. “I will be targetting Telugu and Tamil industries. I had a block in my mind that I should do ten films in Kannada and then switch on to other languages. But a recent award given to me has changed my mind. Now I want to broaden my horizons. I realised that at the end of the day, we are all part of a single industry, the Indian cinema.” explains this Punjabi-Sindhi kudi.

Though Bollywood is open to her, she feels that there is lot of competition with the growing number of heroines queuing up in B-Town. “It is extremely difficult to make a name there. But then again, south is equally strong and I am more than happy to be associated to this industry,” she adds.   

Just as she wants to get into other industries in South, she is also looking for a makeover in her future projects. "Honestly, I don't know why the characters offered to me are very conservative. I understand that it might be because of 'Olave Mandara'. But I am completely opposite than what I am on-screen. Being brought up in Dubai, I understand the cultures of both the worlds. Being a model, I want to do roles, where I can be myself. I am completely opposite to the characters what I am doing now. I want to be Akanksha on-screen and looking forward to roles where I can look glam," says this actress, who is yet to crack some good projects for herself.  "I don't know about others, but there is no shortcut to my success. I have climbed every step of the ladder and not missed even one. I am still new with just four films and yet to explore the industry,” she concludes.

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