‘Aamir Khan wanted to meet me for a film’

Despite being a star sibling, actor Preetika Rao (right) never felt that it was imperative for her to become a movie star like her sister, Amrita Rao. She rather chose a different path and made her acting debut through the television soap Beintehaa.

The decision was not for a lack of offers. Preetika reveals that she had been getting film offers since she was 16 years old, but somehow she could never say yes to them. “Aamir Khan wanted to meet me for Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Na. Filmmaker Pradip Sarkar and producer Vashu Bhagnani also offered me a movie. Producer Kumar Taurani wanted to launch me in Ramaiya Vastavaiya, but for some strange reason, I could never make up my mind about Bollywood.”

Preetika adds, “Since my sister was a successful actor, I had a deep insight into the industry. That didn’t mean if I got an offer, I’d just jump into it for the sake of fame.”

The 28-year-old actor also shares that since childhood, she has been very passionate about being a model, and that led her to do several ad films. “It was during [one of] these assignments that a Tamil director offered me my first film, which was in Telugu.”

After a short stint in Tamil films, Preetika took a break and went to New York for a screenplay writing course. “When I came back, there was a sudden deluge of offers from TV production houses — six of them offered me [roles in] leading shows,” recalls Preetika. “At that time, major names from Bollywood such as Amitabh Bachchan, Anil Kapoor and Karan Johar were also on the small screen — on a show or in a series. So I felt it was the right time for me to debut on television.”