She had quite an eventful and emotional 2013. She lost her father — who was her inspiration — just before she campaigned and won the general election from Mandya constituency.
She then went on to win her first-ever State Film Award for best actress in Sanju weds Geetha. The award came to her after she had completed 12 years in Sandalwood. Ramya, the undisputed queen of Sandalwood has seen it all.
The demure and pretty lady is now busy fulfilling her film commitments even as she works around the clock for her constituency, Mandya, as well as her state.
After an emotional period, she has only come out stronger. She was shooting for Aryan starring opposite Sandalwood King Shivarajkumar recently in the city and has expressed that “it” could be her last film.
“The industry gave me recognition, and so much love and appreciation over the years. But with my political duties, I am unable to give enough time to my career in movies. Moreover, I do not want to trouble producers who invest in my films. Unlike others, I entered politics while I was still at the peak of my career as an actress. If I have to continue acting in films, I need to spend at least 60 days at a stretch working on films, which I am presently unable to do so. I try and juggle my day to provide better facilities to my people as a politician, and most importantly to make sure that the facilities that I promised are in place,” says MP and actor Ramya.
This is also why Ramya feels that there is still some time for marriage. “I am the only unmarried female MP in the present Parliament. If I get married and have kids, there would be more responsibilities. Now, I go around offering all my time to my constituency,” she says.
Apart from Aryan, Ramya will be seen in Dil Ka Raja, which she has finished shooting for. In Aryan, she portrays an athlete with Shivanna in the role of a coach. Aryan was the dream project of D Rajendra Babu, and after the demise of Mr Babu, the project is being directed by Gurudutt.
“It was only due to Shivanna, and his better-half Geetha Shivarajkumar, I was able to complete the shoot for Aryan. After my duties as an MP, I would return at night to shoot for Aryan. Shivanna has been very supportive despite being so busy with other projects, he made changes in his dates to accommodate my timings, and also Geetha maam, who managed my dates,” Ramya says.
While acting as an athlete, the young MP felt it was great as her routines exercises have helped her keep in shape. “Usually, during the shooting of sports-related films, supporting artistes are told to run slower, so that the lead heroine could run ahead. But in Aryan, I would run so fast that my fellow runners would fall behind and the director would ask me to slow down.” Ramya adds.
The pretty lady, who made an impressive speech for the first time during the recently concluded Lok Sabha session, says that being an MP has been a wonderful experience.
“People do not ask for big things, they approach me for little things like water connections, pension facilities, drainage works, basic facilities at schools, etc. A few days ago, an elderly man had come to my office during my absence to thank me for finally getting his pension, which was due for long. Small things like this make me feel good. I only believe that they support you if you honestly address their problems and work towards solving them,”she confesses.
