A 21-year-old Bengaluru hudugi meets a 21-year-old Bengaluru magga from the same college but never knew of each other. They both studied at Christ University. This is the story of actress Harshika Poonacha and actor Suriya. The two will be seen in Kavitha Lankesh’s upcoming release Crazy Loka. In a tete-a-tete, the duo that shares a friendly bond made a point about how more often than not they are colour coordinated coincidentally. “Today as well, he’s sporting a tie and I have a bow around my neck,” jokes Harshika.
While Harshika was searching for words to describe this newbie on the block, Suriya promptly calls her “a firecracker.” A laugh riot together, the two teased each other through the interview. “Kavitha Ma’am showed me his picture and I instantly said he was cute,” says Harshika, who was raving about this new dancer on the block.
“The first time we met was at a pooja. I thought he was from the North. He spoke to me in Kannada and we just clicked. He was not at all like a newbie on sets. He was very professional,” says Harshika. She has been stereotyped as a bubbly girl by most filmmakers, and absolutely loves it because “this is the age I can pull off such roles.”
For Suriya, since he is starting out, this is a challenge. He wants to move away from this and prove a point. He says, “I am in search for good scripts and characters. I don’t want to be a hero; I want to be an actor.” About their much talked about on-screen chemistry that is doing the rounds, Suriya with a stern look says, “It is best to ignore these rumours. Both our parents know the truth that there is nothing between the two of us and that is what matters most.”
In the film, the pair share a romantic bond and they fight all the time. Suriya says, “Fighting is the first sign of love between two people. The feeling of hate is much stronger than love.” This bond reflects offscreen to an onlooker but they disagree. Harshika adds, “Offscreen we were fighting more. I love his mom more than him. My mom looked after him on sets and his mom looked after me.”
Harshika says, “One time, before shooting for a song, he was talking a lot to the other girls to see how I would feel. I thought it was very unfair because we weren’t doing the shot.” This he was doing just before his shot. “Before I did the shot, I was rehearsing for what I was required to do with her,” he adds. Another incident that Suriya was reminded of was the slap that he had to give her for a scene. “I enjoyed doing many takes of that,” he jokes.
Harshika feels that till date, her best co-star has been Prajwal Devaraj. “After Prajwal, it has to be Suriya,” she says. While Harshika has many projects on her platter, Suriya is waiting for the film to release for directors to identify his talent.
