I feel answerable to my fans in the south, says Raashii

Vijay Deverakonda, Vijay Sethupati, and now, Prithviraj in the Malaylam remake of Andhadhun, Raashii Khanna has worked with the biggest of actors in south. Yet, when you ask her if her priority in a film is the stature of her co-star, she denies. “I have never gone with bigger stars. There were phases in my career when I was getting some projects with big people but I didn’t feel like doing them,” she says. Having done all kinds of commercial films, she has now struck the “right balance” between content and commerce. “You should have a good part, too. There has to be something concrete. I now have a name for myself in south and people have expectations from me. The moment I sign something crappy, people will feel hurt. Honestly, here fans take everything very personally, it’s very different from the north. You will not find the fan base like in south anywhere else. You feel like you are answerable to them, you can’t pick up anything random,” says Khanna, who had started her film career with the Hindi film Madras Café (2013).

What’s more surprising is that she’s a Delhi girl, who had no exposure to Tamil, Telugu or Malayalam films, in which she actually works prominently now. Ask her how did she manage it, and the actor reveals, “When I entered Telugu films, I was serious about wanting to learn the language. Unless I learned it, I would not be able to convince the audience. I am very hard on myself, and self motivated. Only when you know the language and culture, you can connect with them. So today, when you ask people in Hyderabad, they will tell you that I am a Telugu girl. They have taken me home with them. That only happens when you put in that extra effort. Today, apart from singing, talking in Telugu, I feel like a Telugu girl. But Malayalam is an extremely difficult language.”

When I entered Telugu films, I was serious about wanting to learn the language. Unless I learned it, I would not be able to convince the audience. RAASHII KHANNA,

Actor