Hang on to your dreams: Pruthvi Ambaar

The actor talks about his craze for dance, his stint in television and how his experience of working on his father’s farm taught him some lessons for life

I never set out to be an actor. I grew up around Kapu, a small town in Udupi district that is known for its lighthouse. My mother gave birth to me in my grandmother’s house and that’s where I grew up.

That house and the room where I was born holds great significance for me. I grew up in a beautiful setting, with green spaces, fresh air and the chirping of birds. I lived there till after my graduation.

I was interested in music and dance right from when I was a kid. It was my dream to learn Michael Jackson’s moonwalk.

My uncle was a dancer but he didn’t encourage me to get into dance because he thought that I would be nonchalant about my academics. He wanted me to stay focused and excel in education, which I did.

But I was mad about dance, and so I started watching and slowly learning from YouTube videos and shows. I finally learned how to moonwalk. Around this time breakdance was giving way to Bollywood’s ‘jhatkas’. That was when I started taking baby steps into the world of entertainment. My life changed when I participated and won the ‘Great Karnataka Dance League’, the first dance reality show in Karnataka. Winning the show brought me recognition and reinstated my faith in my skills.

While dance slowly became a part and parcel of my life, I began working towards becoming a choreographer, but my parents weren’t for it. So, I decided to complete my Masters in Mass Communication and do something related to communication. I got an offer to work as a radio jockey in Red FM. I auditioned and was chosen because they loved my voice. This stint as an RJ made me more confident.

I started getting offers to act in Tulu television serials. I worked in a couple of them, with some doing well. I also worked in a couple of Tulu and Kannada films before I got an offer to play the role of Adi in the Kannada film ‘Dia.’ That changed a great deal for me.

Failures make me more confident

There was a time when people mocked me saying I was too short to become an actor and said things to pull me down. But things changed after I won the reality show. People, who once made fun of me, began saying good things. Failures strengthened my determination to do better and explore more of the actor in me. I started getting scripts but they were all similar to what I had done before. I am keen on working on scripts that give me the liberty to try out different emotions. After much thought, I have now signed an action-oriented film.

Family: a big support

My parents were initially very apprehensive about me entering the entertainment industry. But they became confident about my abilities after I won the dance reality show. My father, Veerappa Ambaar, was convinced that my interest lay in that field and has been supporting me since. My mother Sujatha and wife Parul Shukla give me a lot of courage to pursue my dreams.

I have been in the industry for close to a decade now. It took ‘Dia’ to get me recognition. So, I believe that every youngster must hang onto their dreams. They will surely reap the benefits of their hard work. It may take a while, but things will fall in place as long as one keeps at one’s dreams.

My upbringing keeps me grounded

My father is popular in his home town and is someone everybody looks up to. We own a poultry farm that has about 5,000 chickens. As a child, I would wake up early to help my father and finish my work on the farm before I headed off to school. Taking up responsibility at a young age has kept me rooted in my family, culture and made me responsible for my actions. I still hold on tight to all the values that were instilled in me as a child. This is also what guides me today.

(The author is a Sandalwood actor)