A prayerful nayaka

As a child, she would watch her grandfather, a theatre artiste in Mysuru, perform on stage. Later, when she moved to Bengaluru, she shifted her focus to education. She is among the many who did not look at acting seriously in the initial days. But that changed soon enough. Actress Varshika Nayak, who plays the central character in the brand new tele-serial Ivale Veena Paani on Colors Super talks about realising her parents’ dream and her own too. She speaks to Bengaluru Chronicle revealing that she had to discontinue her studies after getting through an audition for a small screen venture, and also lets us in on the devotional side to her role.

“I took up acting to fulfill my parents’ dream of their daughter becoming an actress. It was my father who wanted me to take up acting. Though my earnest wish was to do movies, I came across this golden opportunity. Also, working with such a great team made my parents happy that I could realise their dreams,” says Varshika Nayak.

The actress who is shining onscreen today recalls, “It was my grandfather who was into theatre. I would go watch his act on stage along with my parents, but I never had acting on my mind until I started developing an interest during college.” She took up acting classes at Tandvika, and even got her photo profile done.

“After I posted a few photos of mine on various social media sites, it reached the team of Ivale Veena Paani through a common friend, who then asked me to audition. Luckily, I got through. With such good content and such a great opportunity, I had to discontinue my diploma course in fashion designing too,” she says.

Portraying the lead role of Bhakthi in the serial that is driven by a socio-mythological family drama, the actress is sure she could not have prayed for more. “This serial has a devotional subject and I play the role of a devotee. Though I had done a movie in the past before taking up this project, I am learning a lot. Though it is difficult to speak textbook Kannada with a devotional touch, the entire team especially Sujay Hunsur Sir, the director and the crew helped me learn,” Varshika says.

Her debut movie Meen Kanaja which the team fondly refers to as pen drive is yet to be released. “It was a very unique experience but there was very little for me to learn from it. All I did was act for a limited scene, and get back home. However, working in a serial is truly a great experience. I get to learn and perform to the best of my ability. Also, the team with whom we work eventually becomes a family,” she signs off.