Karnataka girl Asha Bhat, now known as the ‘Junglee Billi’ of Bollywood after her debut in the Hindi film, Junglee, will foray into the South Indian film industry with Kannada film, Roberrt. The actor will be paired opposite Darshan in Tharun Sudhir’s directorial. The one-film-old-heroine is elated about her Sandalwood debut, and said, “What better way to reach the hearts of Kannadigas than a film like Roberrt.
An engineer and beauty pageant titleholder from Karnataka, she is the first Indian to win the Supranational pageant in 2014.Since my roots are in Shivamogga, a question was always raised by the people of Karnataka about when I would do a Kannada film, and to all of them, Roberrt is my answer,” says Asha, adding, “When I started my film career, I didn’t get those kinds of offers in Kannada, and I shifted my base to Mumbai. That’s when Junglee came along, and I signed it.”
The actor, who swears by versatility, is keen to make her mark in different languages. “Though I started in Bollywood, as an actor, I didn’t face any barrier concerning language or region. I was happy that I was approached for a Kannada film. Director Tharun, who saw me in Junglee, gave me a narration of Roberrt. The moment I heard the story and character, it was a ‘Yes’ from my end,” says Asha, who has been asked to be tight-lipped about her role. “I should learn from Tharun, how to keep everything under wraps. I was waiting for him to give a green signal and to make the announcement so that I could shout out loud about my Kannada project,” she said.
Asha has done the screen test and is happy to work with a good team. “Darshan sir is amazing, and Roberrt has a talented director like Tharun Sudhir. The whole team is very warm, and when the atmosphere is good, you tend to work well. I can’t wait to start my schedule this month. The role is demanding I have set aside dates for Roberrt till March,” said Asha, who is also trying to strike a balance with Bollywood. “I prefer to go with one project at a time. While I am set to start shooting for my first Kannada film, I am also listening to a few Hindi scripts,” she added.
Director’s say
Director Tharun Sudhir, who is glad to have Asha Bhat on board for Darshan starrer Roberrt, told CE, that the team had shortlisted two heroines - Mehreen Pirzada and Asha Bhat, and the latter was chosen. “We were looking to rope in a heroine, who is a Kannadiga, and she fit the bill,” he said.