BENGALURU: The date June 24 will always remain special for Kritika Shetty because the day marks her debut in Tollywood. City-based model-turned-actor made her debut with the film 7 Days 6 Nights, which was released on June 24 and has been getting housefull shows.
Apart from Shetty, the movie has Sumanth Ashwin, Rohan M, and Meher Chahal in the lead. Shetty says she could not have asked for a better opening in the industry. “In Hyderabad, the premiere was with an 8.30 am show. The response has been overwhelming.
Right after the show, people were reaching out to me and this kind of reaction is new to me. I can’t explain my feeling in words, I am just grateful for everything,” says an excited Shetty, while speaking to CE from Hyderabad. The film is about two friends, Anand and Mangalam, who go to Goa for a trip where they meet two girls Rathika and Ameya.
“The film is an entertainer and you will have a smile on your face throughout, I can promise you that. It’s a youthful family entertainer; you can go watch it with family and friends,” she adds. The character she plays is from Mangaluru and that being her hometown helped her grab the opportunity. “My character is very similar to who I am, thankfully, I didn’t have to play anything different.
This is a great thing for me since it gives me a chance to prepare myself better when I have to act like someone else,” says Shetty, adding that her voice for this movie has been dubbed by someone else since the artiste is not fluent in Telugu. The movie primarily caters to a young audience and her character is modern and freespirited. But does she worry she will be typecast?
“Every artiste has that thought in their mind but now things are changing in the industry. Earlier they used to categorise the actor based on the roles but now people are fine with giving more opportunities ,”she says. Shetty started her career as a model, walking the ramp for ace des i gne r s l ike Manish Malhotra and Tarun Tahiliani and has been the face of brands like Palmolive.
She strongly believes in the philosophy ‘life happens when you are busy making other plans’, and is currently living by it. “I am an engineer by qualification. I was working for IBM in Bengaluru. Modeling also happened because I’m tall. Then I moved to Mumbai to work as a makeup artist and that’s when I took modeling seriously,” says Shetty, adding that she has joined an acting studio in Mumbai and has been working in theatres to get a hang of it and learn more about the craft.