Veteran actor Arjun Sarja’s daughter Aishwarya Arjun was pleased as punch that her Kannada debut Prema Baraha—a bilingual, released as Sollividava in Tamil in February—had completed 25 days in Mysuru where it was running house full. “Everywhere I went, people told me that they had watched the film. To be accepted and loved so much made me happy,” she says.
The actor, who made her entry into cinema in 2013 with the Tamil film Pattathu Yanai, seems a bit startled when I ask her about the long interval in between. “It doesn’t really seem that way to me because it was already decided that my next film would be with dad who was then working on Jaihind 2, which took him a year-and-a-half to complete. After that, I was fully involved in the pre-production work of the bilingual. In between, I learnt kathak and participated in many acting workshops conducted by actor Anupam Kher’s institute in Mumbai,” says the 27-year-old who is at ease with both Kannada and Tamil.
With her father on board as director, Aishwarya feels that he gave her the role of a lifetime. “I don’t know how he had so much faith in me. There weren’t too many references for a film of this kind and that attracted me,” says Aishwarya. “I played a multi-layered character. The film captured the heroine Madhurya’s happy-go-lucky and ambitious persona as well as her emotional and sensitive side with the Kargil backdrop injecting more intensity and drama into the story. War is also an important character of the film.”
A little shake of Aishwarya’s family tree, and it would drop a big bunch of actors. It is hardly any wonder that the one who has influenced her the most is her father. “I literally grew up watching his movies. The way he carries off each role is an inspiration. Acting is never an easy job and replete with all eccentricities as it is, you need an avenue to vent out your feelings but I have never seen him doing that. I have never seen him being too disturbed or overwhelmed by success,” she says.
The movie also marks hero Chandan Kumar’s debut in Tamil cinema. “It was easy working with Chandan. We got along very well. Dad wanted a newcomer and he fitted the bill,” says Aishwarya about her co-star.
Her forte has always been dance. Her favourite scene from the movie is the climax. “So many people have messaged me about enjoying the film as well as loving the climax,” she says.
Just one-film-old in the Kannada industry, Aishwarya is looking forward to working with young talents now. She hasn’t signed any film though and is still “listening to scripts”.