Riding high on expectations

Actor Avantika Shetty has just returned from a holiday in her hometown in Mangaluru. The actor has completed shooting for her third Kannada film, 'Rajaratha'. She is thrilled to have been a part of a project that has offered her an interesting character. The actor feels that she has a lot to look forward to after working on 'RangiTaranga' and 'Kalpana 2'. These two projects have given her a definite idea of how the film industry works. She is also glad that her contribution to all the projects so far has been more than just acting. In an interview with Nina C George, Avantika shares her experience of working on 'Rajaratha'.

 Any unforgettable experiences when shooting for the film?

Nirup and I can put together a list of all the falls that we had during the making of 'Rajaratha'. There was another time when we were shooting in a hot weather and I had a tough time because the gown that I was wearing weighed 15 kg and had many layers to it. I remember that my body would ache after shooting that sequence.

 On working with Nirup...

Nirup and I were able to perform well despite shooting in extreme weather conditions only because of the good rapport that we share. I sailed through the most challenging portions of the film only because I had a good co-star in Nirup.

 What is your role? Could you connect with it?

I go by the character name of Megha in the film and it was tough for me to relate to her at first.

 Was it easy for you to dub in Kannada and Telugu, almost simultaneously?

I am still learning Kannada, so you can imagine what my situation would have been when I had to render the dialogues in two languages. I worked very hard to get my diction right in both languages.

 On sharing screen space with some of the biggest stars...

It was nice to work with some of the biggest names because they never came with the baggage of their personality and star status.

 Any interesting memories when shooting for 'Rajaratha'?

I celebrated my birthday with the team of 'RangiTaranga' last year and this year again, I celebrated it with the team of 'Rajaratha'. I was treated to some memorable surprises on both occasions.

 What next?

I am contemplating doing a Spanish film. I don't want to sign any other project till I am convinced about role and script.