June 20, 2006

Anushka made her debut with Nagarjuna’s Super and then acted in Sumanth’s Mahanandi. Her films Vikramarkudu and Asthram are due for the release on 23rd of 28th of this month. She bagged Shyam Prasad Reddy’s heroine oriented film. Idlebrain.com met with Anushka for chitchat at the residence of SS Rajamouli. Here are the excerpts -

What is your real name?
My real name is Sweety Shetty. My screen name is Anushka.

Tell us about your background?
I am basically from Bangalore. I did my schooling and college in Bangalore. I learnt Yoga while doing my graduation in Computer Applications. Then I started teaching Yoga in Bangalore and Bombay.

Why did you shift from computers to Yoga?
I have shifted lots in my life. I did History, Economics, Sociology and Psychology in +2. I did not want to get into B. Com and wanted to try BCA (Bachelor in Computer Applications). Then I shifted from BCA to Yoga teaching.

How did you land up in films?
I knew director E Nivas (Shool fame) through my Yoga guru Bharat. It was him who suggested me to Puri Jagan. Then I was selected for Super film.

You didn’t have any prior experiences in modeling or acting?
No.

Do you know Telugu?
I learnt Telugu by watching Telugu TV channels and I can speak Telugu now. That is the best way to pick up any language. Since I am a South Indian, it’s is easy for me to pick up any other south Indian language.

Don’t you think your debut role in Super is comparatively small?
I am feeling very lucky to have done that role in Super. If I had done a major role in my debut film, my negative features might have got exposed since I did not have any prior experience in acting. I am glad that I did a small role in my first film. Comparatively I had lot of footage in my second film Mahanandi. I learnt a lot from my first two films.

Tell us about your character in Vikramarkudu?
I play love interest to Athili Sathi Babu character played by Ravi Teja. I don’t claim that I have big footage in this film, but this character is too different from the other two characters I played in the past.

You said that you learnt a lot from this film in the audio launch. What did you learn?
There are small details and nuances Rajamouli pinpointed in my histrionics and I improved over them. The major credit for my performance in Vikramarkudu goes to Rajamouli.

Tell us about your character in Asthram?
I am playing a very bubbly character, who talks first and thinks later. Again, footage for my role in that film is not big. My character is vivacious and brings lots of lightness to a serious film like Asthram.

What are your future projects?
I am going to do a heroine oriented project to be produced by M Shyam Prasad Reddy in the direction of Sabhapati. This film will start very soon.

What do you think are your strengths?
My patience, ability work hard, believing in myself and ability to work along with the people.

Do people compare your looks to any actress?
Lot of people compares my looks to that of Kareera Kapoor.

Who are your favorite actor and actresses?
I like Abhishek Bachchan among the actors. I like Madhuri Dixit, Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, Sushmita Sen and lot many actresses. I like different actresses for different qualities.

What is the most memorable moment in your life?
The moment I took the decision to teach Yoga. I come from a family of doctors and engineers. It was a brave decision to go for Yoga. It got me so far in life.

How helpful is Yoga to your acting profession?
I learnt to be patient and developed good attitude. Yoga brings out the ability to see yourself from another person’s shoes. It brings out a few negative things also.

Tell us about the heroes you worked so far?

1. Nagarjuna: He made me completely comfortable. He goes out of his way to pull you out. I learnt the ‘believe in yourself’ attitude from him. He asked me to come to set and observe how shooting is going on even when shots involving me were not being shot. I used to be there on location everyday. It helped me a lot to understand what teamwork is all about.

2. Sumanth: He is very silent and quite. He doesn’t talk very much. He has got amazing sense of humor. I think lot of people doesn’t know about that part of him because he is always quite.

3. Ravi Teja: He is a very dedicated actor. His mind is always on the work. He is very chilled, at the same time very focused. It’s very confortable for me to work with such people.

4. Vishnu: We are of same age group. We could relate very easily on certain things. If you see Asthram film, you would notice such chemistry between us. He is always high on sets and I don’t know how he manages such energy levels all the time. When we work with him, he inflicts that energy to you automatically.

What are your hobbies?
I like collecting newspaper articles of natural calamities. I have all those paper clippings with me. I also like collecting quotes and poems. I write sometimes. I like kids and animals. I like trying new things. I like to see small details about how they do things. For example, if a carpenter is at work, I like observing his skill and how he does it.

What is your favorite quotation?
Live and let live.

Do you want to say anything to the visitors of idlebrain.com?
Believe in yourself. You might take a wrong decision or you might take a right decision. But stick by your decision. Don’t harm anyone and just be happy! Then you will go places!!

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