Kannada actress Ashika Ranganath, known for her roles in Karthi’s Sardar 2 and Chiranjeevi’s Vishwambhara, shares that she initially took up films just for the experience but eventually found joy in being in front of the camera.
Speaking about her role in Sardar 2, directed by PS Mithran, she says, “Its makers approached me after watching my Telugu film Naa Saami Ranga. I played a traditional girl in that film, but my role in Sardar 2 is that of a young, modern girl who represents today’s generation. I don’t have combination scenes with Malavika (Mohanan) ma’am, but Karthi sir has been a fantastic human being to be around. He is an amazing actor who is passionate about his work.”
Ashika admits that learning Tamil has been the most difficult aspect of her multilingual career. “Exploring various languages has been more beneficial to me as a person than as an actor. Tamil has been the most difficult to learn. I’m from Tumkur, and my mother tongue is Kannada. I didn’t have friends who spoke Tamil or Telugu. I speak Telugu more fluently because I grew up watching Telugu movies. But I can understand Tamil now.”
Reflecting on her early days in the film industry, she shares, “I didn’t think I would be an actor. It was my parents who wanted me to be part of movies. I wanted to be an entrepreneur because I’m a commerce student. Of course, dancing was always my passion. But I never thought that would lead me to be an actor. When the opportunity came, I took it up for the experience. When I saw myself on screen for the first time in 2016 (her debut was the Kannada film Crazy Boy), I felt I wasn’t great, but I would be able to do this.”
She now understands the importance of building connections in the industry. “It’s not like there is a lot on my table from which I get to choose. There are only certain films that are offered to you, and you need to be careful in choosing from them. I initially thought that if a project had to come to me, I would get it. But that mindset doesn’t work in today’s world, where there is so much competition. You need to be on your toes. When you don’t have a film background, you need to be well-connected to land the right projects. But, even though being well-connected will help, that’s not the sole reason you will do well. It’s a combination of everything. Of course, there’s luck, hard work, and discipline.”
Discussing her next projects, she says, “In Kannada, I’m doing a period love drama called Gathavaibhava. In Telugu, I have Chiranjeevi sir’s Vishwambhara, a socio-fantasy film. I play a warrior princess in it. It’s the first time I’m working on a blue/green matte set. In a real set, we know the atmosphere and feel. But this time, I didn’t know what the background would look like. It was difficult, but Chiranjeevi sir made it comfortable. He is well-learnt and updated, and explains to us how a scene is going to be visualised.”
Ashika shares that her favourite actors are Puneeth Rajkumar and Ramya. Elaborating on why she admires them, she says, “I always enjoy the aura Ramya carries in her movies and how she represents herself. Puneeth sir was a whole package as an actor; he used to act, dance, and fight. I think that’s how an actor should be. You should be able to do everything for the character. When I started working in movies, I met him a couple of times, and he sang a song in my first film. I got to know the person he is, and the whole of Karnataka admires him for the personality he had.”
