JOIN USModel-turned-actress Teena Ponnappa has her hands full. Currently working in a Kannada, Tamil and Telugu film, Teena says she’s most comfortable working in the Kannada industry. “It’s always nice to work in a language in which one is fluent. But at the same time, the Telugu and Tamil industries provide greater exposure,” she says.
Recalling her journey so far, Teena says, “It is just by chance that I got into modelling and acting. In fact, my mother wanted me to be an IAS officer and even to this day, she keeps telling me that I didn’t fulfill her dream. On the other hand, I wanted to be an athlete. But a foot injury changed everything. I guess life had different plans for me.”
Teena, who is now working in the Kannada film ‘Show Off’, picks and chooses her films carefully. She says, “I am choosy about the films I take up. What’s most important for me are my co-stars and colleagues. The rapport I share with them really matters.” Teena, who also does advertisements, explains, “I love shooting for advertisements. You don’t waste any time and within two days, the shoot is complete.”
So what’s her fitness regimen? “I’m lazy to go to the gym. Which is why I exercise at my home, following a DVD. I exercise only three times a week. My body type is such that I don’t put on weight easily,” she says. But her biggest drawback, she feels, is her height. “People here find me too tall. This, at many times, does not work in my favour,” she rues.
Teena says that opportunities for those with talent is unlimited. “It’s important to be good at what you are doing. Being confident in front of the camera also helps,” she says.
Pointing out that the modelling industry is not the way it is portrayed in films, she says, “I come from a non-filmi background. But from what I’ve seen, the industry is not the way it is portrayed. Issues may arise only if one is over-ambitious. It’s really not the way it was shown in ‘Fashion’.” However, she adds, “I’m not that experienced an actor that I can comment on how the film industry works.”