Heroines have very few choices: Radhika

Bangalore, April 30 (IANS) Quiet and non-controversial Kannada actress Radhika refutes rumours that she is bored with her village girl image and is looking for glamorous roles.

"I have not sent any feelers to Tamil film producers and all these things that are attributed to me are just rumours," Radhika told IANS.

In spite of working in women-centric films and being associated with hits like "Tavarige Baa Thangi", she has failed to reach the top slot because of wrong choices.

"Every artist in the film industry learns from past mistakes. I will be careful, but one thing should be made clear - heroines in the industry have very few choices."

Excerpts:

Which image will stick to you ultimately - the role of a weepy heroine or a glamorous actress?

I think I will be comfortable with both. If you see my list of films, each one is different from the other. My recently released film "Hatavadi", in which I team up with Ravichandran sir, has given me a chance to portray both - the elements of glamour and emotion.

I also play the role of a model in the yet to be released film "Good Luck" directed by Nandakumar, in which I am working with Anirudh.

In films like "Anna Thangi" and "Heththavara Kanasu" I have played the roles of a sacrificing sister and an assertive wife who does not get bogged down by threats of her husband and in-laws. "Anna Thangi" is certainly a milestone in my career. The two films in which I played the roles of a sister to Shivaraj Kumar have been huge hits.

"Tavarige Baa Thangi", my earlier film with Shivaraj Kumar, was a trendsetter, which paved the way for many sentimental films in Kannada. Therefore, rather than sticking to one type of image, I am doing different types of roles and proving that I am acceptable in any role.

In my next two films "Oda Huttidavalu" with Ravi Sir and "Narasimha" with Audithya, I am playing glamorous roles.

In spite of the hugely successful film "Tavarige Baa Thangi", you lost out the race because you signed too many insignificant films? Will you make the same mistake now?

Every artist in the film industry learns from past mistakes. I will be careful, but one thing should be made clear - heroines in the industry have very few choices.

We have to take a chance and accept some offers, though they may not allow us substantial scope for acting. I had tried to choose films earlier, but that has not been a pleasant experience.

People have asked me whether I can guarantee success by preferring to be choosy. Success and failure are part of the game and no actor can guarantee success. For your information, I want to reiterate that I did not lose out offers in Kannada films earlier, but many of the offers I could not accept because of my busy schedule in Tamil and Telugu films.

Are you trying for an image change in Tamil films? Rumours are that you have sent feelers to many Tamil film producers that you are ready to expose and wear skimpy clothes?

In all my Tamil films I was shown as a village girl or a girl from a poor family, except "Varnajalam" in which I had one dance sequence with the film's hero Srikanth.

In films like "Iyarkai" and "Meesa Madhavan", I did not wear any glamorous costumes. I have not sent any feelers to Tamil film producers and all these things that are attributed to me are just rumours.

I am very busy in the Kannada film industry and I can think about non-Kannada films only if I get some good offers.

You have not strengthened your career by doing two heroine films. For example, you have acted in films like "Auto Shankar" and "Mandya" in which Shilpa Shetty and Rakshitha shared major honours with top heroes like Upendra and Darshan.

I had very good roles in "Auto Shankar" and "Mandya". In fact, my role in "Mandya" was so important that without my presence there was no story element. About "Auto Shankar", I have to add here, that I had heard the full story of the film before accepting the role.

In both the films, I had some beautifully choreographed song sequences with Upendra and Darshan. In fact, my roles in these two films were positive and I got a very good feedback from my fans.

Though you have worked with many top heroes in the Kannada film industry, you are yet to act with Vishnuvardhan and Sudeep? Did you get offers earlier?

There was one offer from producer K. Manju for Vishnu sir's film. I had to act as Vishnu sir's sister. I was very happy, but the dates did not work out. I met Vishnu sir and he assured me that there might be still good offers in future.

I was supposed to do "Tirupathi" with Sudeep, but even there I could not accommodate dates. I am sure I will be part of Sudeep's film in days to come.

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