BENGALURU: Actor Rashmika Mandanna has been named as the ‘Coorg Person of the Year 2022’ by coorgtourisminfo, a news portal based out of Kodagu district. Originally started in 2005 by author PT Bopanna, the initiative aims to promote ‘role models and reignite the community’s famed leadership qualities’ through an annual poll. “When you think of role models, you usually think of the elderly who have made a lifetime’s worth of contribution. But in recent years, things have changed. There’s a lot of enthusiasm and energy among the younger generation who have made significant contributions,” Bopanna explains.
Mandanna, a native of Kodagu’s Virajapete, made her film debut with Kirik Party (2016) and has since gone on to establish herself across Kannada, Telugu and Hindi film industries, sharing screen space with actors such as Rakshith Shetty, Puneeth Rajkumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Allu Arjun among others. “For a person coming from a small community to grow and establish herself in a male dominated industry through sheer willpower and talent is noteworthy,” shares Bopanna, “Rashmika [Mandanna] serves as a role model not only for the Kodavas, but for all women aspiring to tread a similar path. Whatever she has achieved, she has done it on her own without the backing of an influential supporter.”
Despite her success at the box office, the 26-year-old Mandanna has increasingly been at the centre of controversies over the last few years. After she broke her engagement off with actor Rakshith Shetty in late 2018 to focus on her career, Mandanna was at the receiving end of much criticism from fans. Recently, she was chastised for not having watched the popular Kannada movie Kantara (2018).
Bopanna feels that people tend to judge Mandanna for her personal choices rather than for her artistic ability. “There have been efforts to bring her down by deliberately portraying her in a negative light and quoting her without context. But despite the negativity, she has remained strong, which requires exceptional mental fortitude and integrity. People shouldn’t be judging her based on the movies she has watched and ones she hasn’t. Her personal issues, or the fact that she might struggle to speak Kannada, shouldn’t be a cause to demonise her,” he says, adding that Mandanna doesn’t need to address critics, given that her box office records already speak for herself.
Actor Rashmika Mandanna was recently named ‘Coorg Person of The Year 2022’ by a news portal whose founder shares the idea behind the initiative, Mandanna’s meteoric rise and her ability to establish herself amid constant barrage of negativity