Bangalore-based Manisha Yadav’s latest flick, ‘Vazhakku Enn 18/9’, has got rave reviews so far. The actress now sets her eyes on content-driven roles. Manisha Yadav might not be a familiar face in the Kannada film industry. This Bangalore-based model-turned-actress recently rocked Kollywood with her very first film. “I waited for three years for the movie to release; and I finally got my due,” says an ecstatic Manisha about her latest flick, which has fetched her rave reviews and has catapulted her into a different league. “The film got an awesome response with critics giving 4 to 5 star rating. More importantly, the film was under the Linguswamy banner
and directed by Balaji Sakthivel,” she says.
This teenage love story had Manisha playing the role of a school girl. “After two-and-a-half-years, I watched the film amongst the audiences. I could see them enjoying and keenly observing my role. I looked so young and refreshing without make-up. It was cute,” says Manisha, who could relate to the film.
“Vazhakku... has two love stories that shed some light on ‘colliding’ relationships that revolve around girls and boys belonging to the age group of 17 to 18. The nervousness when a girl meets a boy for the first time and all those infatuations were something I could very easily relate to,” admits Manisha, who worked really hard to get into the skin of the character. “A different kind of cinema has made all the difference. I don’t know whether people remember my name. I was happy when I heard that they wanted to see more of me, on screen. I was thrilled,” she adds.
Back home in Sandalwood, the actress has slowly been noticed for her brilliant portrayal of the character. “I always wanted start off my career here. But, Sandalwood did not explore my talent. After ‘Vazhakku...’, people have realised that I have potential. This industry is still biased towards heroes, unlike Tamil films, where even heroines have meaty roles to play. I am still keen to be a part of Kannada films,if they give me a content-driven role. I also want to make my mother happy, as she is extremely keen that I do a Kannada film since we are based out of here,” she says.
She recently met Tamannaah, who was introduced by Balaji Sakthivel and also shared a few words with Manisha. “‘Vazhakku...’ was released in Telugu as ‘Premale Paditho’ and Tamannaah made her presence on the day of the release. She got her first break in ‘Kalloori’ by Balaji Sakthivel. She also told me that I was on the right track and how she had to wait for a long time for ‘Kalloori’ to release, but then, it was a perfect launch for her eventually,” she says.
The actress is currently shooting for ‘Tuniga Tuniga’ along with MS Raju’s son Sumanth Ashwin and Rhea. “This will be a complete mass entertainer that has a decent storyline,” says Manisha. She will sign her next project with Suseenthiran of ‘Rajapattai’ and ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ fame. “The director saw the trailer of ‘Vazhakku...’ and chose me to be a part of his next film. All the credit goes to Balaji Sakthivel and Linguswamy, who gave me this good break. I have good offers coming my way. I will make sure that I will not get typecast with the same kind of films,” she concludes.