Meghana Raj’s Aatagara released last week, but the actress couldn’t be part of the first-day-first-show experience. At 10.30 am on Friday,she was in college, taking her final year exams.
“I was super scared on Thursday night; because of the release of my film and my exams. I was more worried about the film though. I was confident that I had done my best but you can never predict a film’s results,” she says.
Meghana is pursuing a degree in Political Science. “Throughout the time of the first show, I had to concentrate on the subject and write.There was no way I could find out about the viewers’ response until I was out of the exam hall. I was anxious, but also thrilled,” she recalls.“In fact, after handing over my papers to the invigilator, I ran out of the class and called my mom to ask her about the film. I was so happy when I heard that people loved it,” she says.
Meghana’s final year exams end on September 7, and the actress is determined to graduate. She says, “Even though I have a career in films, I always felt that education is necessary. My dad always said that a career in films is very unpredictable and one never sees the ups and downs coming. It is very true and I have personally experienced it. After Raja Hulli in Kannada, I went through a lull and now I got Aatagara. This industry is not a lifelong career choice.”
Besides, everyone in Meghana’s family is educated and she feels she has a reputation to live upto. “My folks will disown me if I don’t have a degree,” she says with a laugh.
Though the actress was too busy to attend regular college, she never gave up. “I used to take textbooks to shoots. Since I am not someone who can mug up lessons, I read through them like a story. And Political Science is an interesting subject to read that way,” she says.
Now that Aatagara has been declared a hit, Meghana is free to finish the rest of her exams in a good mood. “I see other students looking tense while coming out of the exam hall, and I am the only one smiling. I go through a couple of reviews of Aatagara to boost my confidence before the exams. When people ask me how I am so calm, say, ‘Chill, everything will go smoothly. I have read through the stuff,’” she says.
After the exams, Meghana will join the sets of Nagabharana’s Allama Prabhu on September 8. “It is another interesting subject because there is history attached to it. I have allocated the whole of September for the film. It is going to be hectic,” she says.
As for the status of her other films, Meghana says, “I have completed the talky portions of Bhujanga and R Chandru’s Lakshmana. I will do the songs in October. Apart from this, I also have Vamshodaraka ready for release though I am not aware of when it will hit theatres.”