Any newcomer to tinsel town wants to make an impeccable first impression with the trailers, teasers and songs of their debut film. Asha Bhat has been able to nail it with the glimpses of her dancing skills that Sandalwood viewers have seen so far in two songs -- Kannu Hodiyaka and Baby Dance Floor Ready — featuring her alongside Darshan in Roberrt. The two songs have been ruling the charts and garnering millions of views, even bringing her the sobriquet, Roberrt Queen.
Asha, however, is careful about getting complacent with the thought that she is halfway through to winning the hearts of Kannadigas with her Sandalwood debut. “I don’t know about winning hearts as of now,” she tells CE. “What I know is that whatever has come out of Roberrt started with my pairing with Boss (Darshan), who instils confidence in me. As a director, Tharun Kishore Sudhir gave me complete freedom to explore my character, and as a producer, S Umapathy has taken the risk on betting on new talent for a big scale film like Roberrt, which is a very big thing for me,” she adds, also giving credit to cinematographer Sudhakar S Raj for “making sure” that she looks good in every frame.
“Overall, I am glad that people recognise that a girl from Karnataka has done some good work. When I got to read that, I felt happy. Like they say, asli picture abhi baaki hai... The result of my final exam will be out on March 11, when they watch my performance,” says the model-turned-actor, whose first step in showbiz was with the Bollywood film, Junglee, in which she was paired opposite Vidyut Jammwal.
Asha, who hails from Bhadravathi, says she always wanted to work in Sandalwood, and there was no second thought about it. However, fate too played its role. “Soon after I won the Miss Supranational pageant, I started giving auditions, and I got the first offer for Junglee. If I had been offered a good Kannada film at that time, I would have started from here. As a beginner, you always tend to grab that initial opportunity coming your way. So Junglee came first, and when I was offered Roberrt, I simply grabbed it with both my arms.
As an actor, I never felt the need to have a language barrier, and through Roberrt, I am glad that I am
getting to entertain the Kannada audience. It feels good,” she says, adding that whether it was the beauty contest or the movies, she started from scratch. It wasn’t long before she realised that the skills required for modelling do not work in films. “So, to be an actor, I had to start from scratch. I was not offered a film just because I was Miss Diva. I have given at least 100 auditions, and have faced rejections, and received feedback,” she reveals, calling her journey, from the Fanta ad to big auditions, a learning process.
“Every time I entered the audition room, I used to get a new character to enact. After playing a character in front of 15 people, it became easy for me to shoot in front of 100 people,” says Asha. Being a Kannadiga, she is already considered as ‘nammane hudugi’ (local girl) in Sandalwood. However, Asha does point out that breaking the initial hesitation comes with giving people a good smile. “Greeting is the most important aspect, and we eventually get comfortable. That initial step has to be right and genuine,” she says.
Though the actor checks herself from revealing anything about her character in Roberrt, she says that the film will come with a lot of surprises, and a lot of new things to look forward to. “You will get a bouncer every 10 minutes,” she adds. Ask her about the difference in the working style between Hindi and Kannada film industries, and she mentions that there are small variations. “Every day, a pooja was held on the sets of Roberrt, and we bow in front of the camera before beginning the shoot. In Bollywood, we rehearse and get ready for the shot. But over here, we get ready, come for our monitor takes, and go for the final shot. But I believe that working patterns would be differing from one director to the other. The vibe of the Roberrt team was different,” she says.
The newcomer isn’t much stressed about whether getting associated with a big film will make it more challenging for her to bag her next film. “As of now, people have been recognising me, and I am being approached for various roles. However, nothing can be confirmed until I sign on the dotted line. If there is a fabulous story, and if Asha Bhat can be part of it one way or the other, then I would like to fit into the project. As an actor, it is important for me to explore different characters, as it will help me build my skills. Right now, my focus is on doing my job to the best of my ability,” she says.