‘A great honour for me to work with Amitabh Bachchan’
Actor Rashmika is having a super run. After the phenomenal success of Pushpa — The Rise, she has started preparing for the sequel, apart from working on 2 films — Animal with Ranbir Kapoor and Goodbye with Amitabh Bachchan
Pushpa – The Rule
National crush’ Rashmika Mandanna is all set to make her Bollywood debut with Mission Majnu, opposite Siddharth Malhotra. She will also be seen in Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal and Amitabh Bachchan’s Goodbye.
Rashmika is in the process of understanding cultural differences across the country. “Every year is bigger for me than the previous one, but
2022 is going to be a completely different experience, because this year I am going to be a part of many experiments,” says the petite actress. Every part of our country is different from each other, the cultures are different. As actors, we are bound to be nervous. At the same time, I’m also curious to see how people here will take to me. I hope I will be able to find a place in their hearts with my work.”
The Srivalli of Pushpa hopes to be able to do justice to the Hindi language like she did with Telugu and Kannada.
The offer of Mission Majnu came during the lockdown and two months later, she was roped in for Goodbye. “The filmmakers were looking for a fresh face for Mission Majnu, but at the same time they needed an actress with experience. From the very first narration, I wanted to be a part of this film. I realized that if my Hindi debut was not now it would never be. I accepted it as a challenge. This film has given me a lot — my debut in the North, exposure to a different culture, opportunity to work with different people. I can’t ask for more at this stage of my career,” the actress says. “I had never imagined I
would get a
chance to work with Amitabh Sir. It is a great honour for me to work with him in Goodbye,” says Rashmika, adding that she remembers watching a lot of the Big B’s movies while she was a student.
SHOOTING WITH RANBIR
Rashmika shot with Ranbir Kapoor for Sandeep Vanga’s Animal amidst the snow-capped mountains of Manali. “Sandeep Sir enjoyed watching Pushpa and he approached me for this film. I agreed immediately, because I am sure that the audience will get to see a unique performance,” she says. Recalling the initial days, she says, “I met Ranbir for the first time during the look test. Sandeep Sir had called both of us on the same day as he wanted to
see how we would look together on screen. (He was very happy from the very first glance.) I introduced myself to Ranbir and I was definitely nervous. But he was so chilled that I became comfortable in a few minutes.”
Ranbir and I are working very hard because we want to make Sandeep Sir happy,” she adds.
After the success of Pushpa — The Rise, Rashmika has started preparing for the sequel, Pushpa – The Rule. Shooting is expected to start within a month. “Pushpa will always be special to me. The kind of love people have given is really amazing. It feels good when people call me by the name of the character. We are trying to do the same with Pushpa 2, she says.
BUSINESS PLANS
Rashmika recently joined hands with a beauty product. “Business is a different world, and very interesting. When this cosmetics brand approached me, I was excited about learning how business works. I realized that this is a good time to explore the business woman in me,” she says.
Rashmika believes a woman should be financially independent, even if she is married. “I firmly believe that financial independence gives women a different identity, whether they are married or not. Also, it gives us personal freedom and does not make us dependent on our partners for domestic needs. Being financially independent helps in building morale. It empowers and enables women to make their own decisions. I learned this from my mother and will always remember her advice in this regard," she says.
“I MET RANBIR FOR THE FIRST TIME DURING THE LOOK TEST. SANDEEP SIR HAD CALLED BOTH OF US ON THE SAME DAY AS HE WANTED TO SEE HOW WE WOULD LOOK TOGETHER ON SCREEN. I INTRODUCED MYSELF TO RANBIR AND WAS DEFINITELY NERVOUS. BUT HE WAS SO CHILLED THAT I BECAME COMFORTABLE IN A FEW MINUTES.”