Perfect Balance Between Style and Substance
Talented and gorgeous, Raashi Khanna is the latest of Bollywood imports who is slowly gaining recognition in the Telugu film industry. The model-turned-actress, who made her debut with Shoojit Sircar’s Madras Cafe as John Abraham’s wife, has received acclaim for her performance in the recently released Telugu film Jill.
It was baptism by fire in Tollywood for Raashi as she was introduced in Manam, one of the biggest films of 2014. “I only played a cameo in Manam, but it was an extremely memorable experience, especially shooting with someone like Nagarjuna. He was so humble and what struck me about him was how calm he was on the sets,” says Raashi.
The actress, who has done just three films in Tollywood, is delighted with the response she has received for Jill. “It was very different from any of the films I had done so far and I play a happy-go-lucky girl called Savithri in it. It had a tremendous influence on me as I started feeling happy off-screen as well. There was a lot of technical stuff involved, but the director made me feel extremely comfortable,” says Raashi.
Having played a traditional yet modern girl in Oohalu Gusagusalaade (2014), her first full-fledged role in Tollywood, Raashi says she would like to feature in similar roles in the future, which have both glamour and substance. “I don’t want to do anything that I’ve already done before. I don’t want to be just a glamourous girl but would like to do some good acting. If you notice, in Madras Cafe, I got recognition for my acting and thereafter I did a couple of glamourous roles,” she says.
Having received praise for her performances in both Hindi and Telugu film industries, Raashi does not want to confine herself to any particular industry and would like to take each film as it comes. “I don’t plan anything, but any role which excites me and has a strong script, I would be happy to do it. At the start of one’s career, you don’t get the opportunity to choose a script but it’s the script that chooses you,” she quips.
Reflecting on her film career so far, the actress reveals it has been a tremendous learning experience. “I have been fortunate to have worked with some of the finest creative minds as it helps me get the recognition that an actor longs for. Glamour cannot help you sustain for long; you should be also be good at what you do,” asserts Raashi.
With the Telugu industry being largely male-dominated, the actress hopes more performance-oriented roles are made for women. “I really hope that characters of more substance are written for women. It is slowly changing and I am being offered substantial roles but it’s time directors realised that women are not just necessary to fill up the glam quotient but are capable of playing some tough characters as well,” she says.
Raashi will next be seen in the much-awaited Bengal Tiger, which also features Ravi Teja and Tamannaah. When asked about any apprehensions on featuring in multi-starrers, she says, “I don’t mind multi-starrers at all, and if you notice, even my first film was a multi-starrer. Tamannaah is a wonderful actress and I had no problem sharing screen space with her.”
The actress has a few more projects in the pipeline and looks forward to acting in more performance-oriented roles. “Apart from Bengal Tiger, I have some more projects lined up, but there’s nothing concrete so I can’t speak about it,” she says.