Mayuri Kyatari is indeed lucky. Her journey from playing Ashwini in the popular Kannada tele-serial Ashwini Nakshatra to bagging a prestigious film, Krishna Leela, directed by Shashank, is one that is made of dreams. Hailing from Hubli, her break came through when she auditioned for a reality show in Dharwad.
“I am good at dancing and used to participate in various cultural activities. My friends forced me to audition for a show in Dharwad. To my surprise, I got selected,” says Mayuri, who participated in five episodes of Sye before quitting to pursue her education. “I anchored a few shows, which was fun as it earned me good pocket money. I thought I will opt for journalism and wanted to get into a mass communications course after graduating in commerce. But destiny brought me to the small screen when the director of the reality show approached me with Ashwini Nakshatra. I spoke to my mom who said, ‘When you are an actress at home, why don’t you be one on screen’,” she laughs.
With Krishna Leela in her kitty, Mayuri surely knows the significant step she has taken in her fledgling career.
“Good deeds and sacrifices will definitely pay. Coming from a middle-class family, I have learnt to be grounded. I never knew that people follow serials so much. I realised that for everyone, I was not Mayuri, but Ashwini. In fact, I got this film because of my presence on the small screen. I have seen people struggling to get here and I am just glad that people have seen something in me,” she says.
Mayuri has another reason to be glad. She will be working with Ajai Rao. “I have seen his film, Excuse Me, when I was in school and always felt that he was a good actor. I am happy to get an opportunity to work with him,” she says. But Jayaram Karthik aka J K of Ashwini Nakshatra remains the most inspiring person in her life. “I learnt from him every day. He is the most humorous guy I have ever come across and he is everywhere - on silver screen, in cricket, in advertisements and more, but still manages to stay calm, which is necessary in this industry,” she says.
Mayuri is now preparing to go through a workshop, before she kick-starts her film in March. “When there is competition, there is scope for perfection too. I want use of this platform well and perform till I get married and settle down,” she says.