Once upon a time in the 80s and 90s, a lot of talented actresses from neighbouring film industries have ruled the Kannada screen. But the trend seems to have reversed recently, going by Rashmika Mandanna’s phenomenal success in Tollywood, and now that another Kannada actress has managed to emerge victorious with a ‘smart’ foray in that direction. Actress Nabha Natesh, who kicked off her acting journey in the super hit Kannada film Vajrakaya opposite Century Star Shivarajakumar, is now the hot favourite in Telugu films.
Her latest film iSmart Shankar featuring her alongside Ram Pothineni and Nidhhi Agerwal, continues to roar at the box office. Even as the offers have started to flood in for Nabha in Kannada as well as Tamil flicks, she is busy wrapping up her next biggie in Telugu with star actor Ravi Teja. Called Disco Raja, it will showcase her in a different avatar, very much a ‘girl of today’. “I could not have asked for more after my debut in Kannada with none other than Shivarajakumar sir. Following the humongous success of Vajrakaya, I was fortunate that I started getting offers from Telugu directors. And, for an actor, language can never be a barrier. It feels really good that all my hard work has started to reap benefits with success and, more importantly, recognition for my work,” says a jubilant Nabha.
Even as iSmart Shankar, directed by Puri Jagannadh and co-produced by him with actress Charmee, continues to charm the audience, Nabha’s been missing in action at all the success parties. She explains why, “I am not keeping well for some time so I couldn’t celebrate properly. But in terms of work, I have never been better. After a short break, I am heading to Delhi for the last leg of the shoot for Disco Raja alongside Ravi Teja sir. Since, I haven’t been well, I could not hear scripts, although I have been offered a good number in both Kannada and Tamil.”
She goes onto share that when doing a genre like commercial potboilers, it is very rare to find a space and stand out in terms of performance. “What actually clicked in iSmart Shankar for me is that the glamorous role I portrayed had good content attached to it, with ample scope to perform. Audiences liked it very much and so did the critics, even those within the industry. It is overwhelming to know my acting is being appreciated,” she smiles.
In fact, so impressed was popular filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma with her acting prowess, he praised her on Twitter. “It came as a big surprise to me. I met him at the success party of the film. Sir hadn’t seen the film by then but when he saw it the other day, it was a pleasant surprise to see that he tweeted referring to me as ‘Ileana 2.0’.
Growing up as a child, I was a big fan of his Rangeela movie and who is not a fan of RGV sir! I only hope to continue my good work,” Nabha says humbly.
The ‘smart’ girl definitely knows the magic mantra for sustained success — hard work and humility.
