What does Hansika Motwani do when she's not shooting?

Chennai: While most actresses her age unwind by going to parties and shopping, 22-year-old Hansika is different. She adopts children every birthday — she now has 25 — and takes care of them till they settle down in life. What is However a lesser known to the Maan Karate star is that she has a natural flair for painting. She is off to her easel whenever she gets free time. Hansika who has been painting ever since the age of three opens up about her future plans of holding an exhibition of her collection.

“I am not a party person. I paint and painting gives me my much needed break from my routine. Painting was a subject in my school and I developed a liking for the lines and colours and started practising in my free time. It helps me de-stress amidst my hectic shooting schedules.”

Hansika sketches, draws, shades or uses dry pastels. “It all depends on my mood on the day I sit down to paint,” she says. She has had no formal training in painting; it is out of her own passion that she started doing it.

Her subjects range from wildlife, abstracts, caricatures and the human figure. She has more than 100 paintings to her credit.

Has she thought of taking it up as an alternative career? “No, not at all. It’s just a hobby. We actors don’t really have time to even nurture such hobbies,” she says.

An ardent devotee of Lord Ganesh who celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi with fervor annually, Hansika has painted the figure of the idol on different occasions. “I have painted gods and goddesses too and my favourite is Ganesha and Radha Krishna,” she says.

The child artiste turned heroine of southern films is all set to have an exhibition of her paintings to raise funds for a cause. The OKOK star, who upholds the cause of underprivileged children and the elderly, wants to start an old age home with the proceeds of the exhibition. With eight films in Tamil and Telugu in her kitty and living out of a suitcase for the last one year, Hansika says, “Honestly, it has been chaotic for the last eight months. I want to add a few more paintings to my collection when I take a break over the next few days. Building a home for neglected senior citizens is my long time dream. I want to discuss and plan this initiative with my mother and take it forward at an appropriate time.”