'I want to portray difficult roles'

The talented Sandalwood actress Harshika Poonacha is busy with three projects, including a Tamil flick. The actress, who has her kitty full of challenging roles, says acting came her way as a coincidence. “I never dreamt of acting till I got an offer for PUC when I was in PUC. Later on, offers started pouring my way and I got an opportunity to act with stars like Shivarajkumar and Puneeth Rajkumar,” she says.

Right now, Harshika is acting in Jackie, directed by Suri and Master Anand’s debut directional venture Five Idiots. She is also acting in a Tamil flick, Anandha Thollai, opposite Rajkumar and directed by Balu Anand. Though she is playing the second heroine in Jackie, Harshika says she has enough to do from the first scene to the last. “In this film, Puneeth and I grow up together and he saves me from every problem. I can’t say anything more than this,” she beams.

She talks about how the project came her way accidentally. “Suri noticed me when he was searching for an apt face to portray this character. It all happened pretty fast and I was finalised only two days before the shooting,” adds Harshika.
The budding actress is all praises for the team of Jackie. “With a team consisting of director Suri, cameraman Satya Hegde and a talented artiste like Puneeth Rajkumar, Jackie is totally power packed.  It’s a nice opportunity to get trained under a realistic director and a talented cameraman,” she avers.

The artiste feels lucky to act with stars like Shivarajkumar and Puneeth Rajkumar. “Puneeth is really superb and our chemistry has come out well in Jackie. He makes everyone feel comfortable and there is no struggle while acting with him. I had great time with Shivanna while shooting for Thamassu. He is always supportive,” adds Harshika.
The actress with the fresh look seems to be satisfied with the characters she has been playing these days. She says, “I feel proud for having played vivid roles in Thamassu and Jackie. I want to portray difficult roles, on the lines of what Rani Mukherji did in Black.”
Harshika, who feels acting is the most difficult job in the world, is part of an out-and-out comedy flick, Five Idiots. “Here, I am playing the lead character and the whole story revolves around me. Five youngsters kidnap me for money, and all of us fall into trouble,” she reveals.

Meanwhile, Harshika is also busy preparing for her engineering exams.