She is the latest ‘queen’ to hit the small screen in Kannada. The architect with an engineering degree ventured into acting and has not looked back. Interestingly, she has also acted in two Tulu movies, and is currently shooting for a couple of Kannada movies as well. Bagging her first tele-serial Maharani on Star Suvarna, Rashmitha Changappa who hails from Coorg and also has a Mangaluru connection speaks with Bengaluru Chronicle on what led her into a career in television, and about her talent as a lyricist, and more.
“It was a huge surprise when I found out that I had made it through to the audition for a brand new serial on Star Suvarna. In fact, the channel had auditioned several talented girls, before I gave it a shot. I was one among the last few to do so. I had little hope about being chosen, and had left to Mangaluru to promote my Tulu movie. Surprisingly, I was asked to take a screen test, and I rushed back to Bengaluru, and everything fell into place. It was a moment of great satisfaction as my mother, a big fan of Kannada television, always wanted to see me perform on the small screen,” says Rashmitha Changappa.
Before venturing into acting, the actress reveals that she worked as a junior architect after completing her civil engineering degree in the coastal city.
“A Kodava by birth, I have been living with my parents in Mangaluru as my father runs a business there. I am well-versed in Tulu too, thus I got an opportunity to work in Tulu movies. Though none of my family members have any connection with the industry, I was always fascinated with the performing arts,” she explains.
During college, and post engineering, she was a part of a small group which performed street plays, creating awareness among the public on various social issues. “Later, I took up an architect’s job, and worked for over a year before I quit to take up films. I am presently shooting for a Kannada film which is yet-to-be titled. It is being directed by Srinivas Kaushik, who earlier directed the film Angaaraka starring Prajwal Devaraj and Pranitha Subhash. Recently, another movie titled Geleya was launched too,” Rashmitha says.
Her Tulu movie Yara Ullerge which was released in September this year is running to full houses in Dakshina Kannada districts, and across the state. Another one in Tulu, titled Kambalabettu Bhatrena Magal is also due for release in the coming weeks.
In her debut serial, Maharani, she plays a village girl who takes care of her siblings, and the story takes a twist when a rich grandmother who is in search of her granddaughter crosses paths with Rashmitha.
Before wrapping up, Rashmitha says that she has also penned a song for the upcoming Kannada movie titled Kannada Deshadol. “Writing is my other passion, and when the makers approached me with a request, I penned a song for the film which talks about Karavali (coastal), its culture, life and traditions.”
