Little did Shilpi Sharma know that modelling and acting in the TV show Kahani Chandrakanta Ki would open the doors of the South Indian film industry for her.
Today, she has three projects up her sleeve — Aakramana, a 3D Kannada film; ‘Green Signal’, a Telugu flick and an untitled Tamil project.
And the young Mumbai-based actress is excited for sure! “Since I was into modelling, I was active in the print media. So one of the photographers suggested my name for Aakramana. I was called to Bangalore for the look test and everything worked
out well,” she tells Metrolife.
She has worked with the likes of Raghu Mukherjee, Daisy Shah and Makrand Deshpande in the film and plays a traditional girl.
“It is not a typical horror film. It has a lot of suspense, romance and masala. There is also a flashback, which is the USP of the film,” she reveals.
Revolving around black magic, which is still prevalent in villages, the film has a social message, she notes.
“My character is against it and considers it a social evil,” she adds.
Her Telugu project is a sea change from Aakramana, she explains. Titled ‘Green Signal’, it is a romantic comedy produced by popular film-maker Maruthi Dasari.
Directed by Vijay Maddhala, it is ready for release. “The film revolves around today’s youngsters and how they don’t take relationships seriously. They get into relationships easily but when things become messy, they break up and regret their
decisions later,” she explains.
Unlike Aakramana, Shilpi is working with a team of newcomers for this project.
“The director wanted fresh faces so that people could relate to the film,” she adds.
She will soon start shooting for her maiden Tamil movie, to be produced by Thirupaty Brothers, as well. “I play a school teacher in a village,” she informs.
Ask her if Bollywood is next on cards and she replies, “Talks are on and I’m in touch with some reputed film-makers. But I want a good platform with the right script and hero because in Bollywood, it is very important to promote yourself. Here, if you don’t do well in Kannada, you can always do well in Telugu. But if your first Bollywood film flops badly, it becomes difficult,” she opines.
Shilpi would love to act opposite young actors like Sidharth Malhotra and Aditya Roy Kapoor.
“In Bollywood, for the first few years, I want to do love stories and light-hearted comedies like Hasee Toh Phasee,” she says.
But she says that she is equally at ease in regional cinema.
“When I first came to the South, I experienced a lot of cultural differences and language was a problem initially. But the directors and producers here are very encouraging and supportive to newcomers and made me feel comfortable. My experience has been really good so far and I look forward to doing more films here,” she wraps up.