A smooth transition

For Ragini Nandwani, recognition came with the Hindi serial Mrs Kaushik Ki Paanch Bahuein, which made her a household name. Then came the Bollywood film Dehradun Diaries, followed by the Kollywood Vijay-starrer Thalaivaa. The upcoming Malayalam film Peruchazi, opposite Mohanlal, is the icing on the cake for her.

Ragini hails from Dehradun and was living there, before moving to Delhi for her studies and then to Mumbai, where she currently resides. The pretty lass wanted to pursue a course in Mass Communication but was spotted and selected for a video album, which is how her tryst with the camera began. Her role in Peruchazi, as the Anglo-Indian love interest of Mohanlal in the US, has her truly excited.

“I was spotted by director Arun Vaidyanathan. I later went to Kochi and met the producers Sandra and Vijay Babu before being signed for the film.” Ragini read the script — a socio-political satire — and loved it. The fact that superstar Mohanlal was playing the lead sealed her decision.

Ragini says, “It is important to have a good director as well as good star cast but I give a lot importance to the script. Acting with Mohanlal and Mukesh was a bonus.”

Ragini, who interacted with Mohanlal for the first time at the poster launch function of the film, says, “I was a little nervous about meeting such a huge superstar but he is a gem of a person.” Ragini was paired opposite another star, Vijay, in Thalaivaa. “Be it Vijay or Mohanlal, they have absolutely no hang-ups and are very down-to-earth people and thorough professionals.” Ragini mentions that she had to let go of a biggie Telugu film to accommodate the dates for Peruchazi because she felt that the Malayalam film deserved priority.

Destiny chose to put Ragini under the arc lights and she is happy about the way her career is progressing. The migration from the small screen to the big screen has also been a smooth one and she shrugs off any negative bias towards a serial actor-turned-film actor. Ragini asserts, “There is no tag on an actor who has graduated from the small screen to the big screen.

Right now, even superstars and top celebrities use the TV platform for film promotions. That negative attitude has long gone and many of the TV stars have made a forceful impact on the big screen. At the end of the day, it is not about a TV star or a film star but about being a capable artiste.” Ragini adds that the small screen taught her the value of adhering to deadlines and working under pressure and all that gave her experience as an actor.

Though she is doing more work in the South, Ragini feels that the North-South divide has blurred to a large extent and that professionalism is prime everywhere.

When asked what career Ragini would have chosen had she not been an actress, she says with a laugh, “I wanted to pursue journalism and also wanted to become an airhostess! Most of my friends are in the airline industry and I get to hear stories of exotic lands, which made me want to fly and travel.”

Ragini, who loves to watch movies and is a self-proclaimed shopaholic, quips, “Today, I can call myself an actress, and I’m very happy as well as proud to be one!”