‘I had to create my path in the industry’
Fashionista, budding medico, uninhibited performer on the screen, daughter of actors Rajashekar and Jeevitha — which label would Shivani Rajashekar pick?
“I’m doing what I love and I’ll be okay with any label you give me. I treat all of these facets of my life equally,” she says. After starring in a handful of Telugu and Tamil films, Shivani made her first appearance in a web series, Aha Na Pellanta, recently.
On what prompted her to be an actor, she shares, “The desire grew in me over time. [I watched] my parents make a mark here, [so] the industry became a very comfortable zone; it’s home. I am at my best when I’m anywhere around the movies or anything to do with art. I only love it more with every passing day.”
Contrary to public perception, no launch vehicle was prepared for the actor just because she was an industry kid. She waited six years for her first film, with nearly three projects failing to take off. “I realised opportunities wouldn’t knock on my door. I had to create my path in the industry. Whenever I learned of a new film, I approached the team for auditions, met them or asked if they’d want to see my images. All my projects have materialised that way,” she says. “There will be highs and lows but they told me to learn from them. Working hard, being smart and kind, making friends in the industry and helping each other are all necessary for progress,” she adds.
Shivani came very close to winning the Miss India crown this year, but the pageant finale clashed with her medical exams. “I had to change two flights from Mumbai and travel by road from Vijayawada to reach my centre in Guntur and vice versa on my return trip. When the finale clashed with my exams, I couldn’t afford to waste an academic year. The conundrum was right out of a film climax.”