She is behind one of the biggest commercial successes in recent times, RangiTaranga. The film, that not only surprised fans, but also its actors and director, starred Mangaluru-born beauty Avantika Shetty.
The girl who rose to instant fame with her debut RangiTaranga, continues to charm with her next venture alongside Real Star Upendra in Kalpana 2, the sequel to the hit film Kalpana (the remake of the Tamil venture Kanchana and Kanchana 2). She speaks exclusively to Bengaluru Chronicle about her journey from working in advertising early on, to finally making a breakthrough in films and fulfilling her passion to act, and much more.
“RangiTaranga surprised not just me but many others too. I am glad that the film happened, after almost eight years of hard work in advertisement and the small screen. I am again playing the role of a journalist in my second venture — I essay the role of Nandini who is a self-confident woman but there is a surprise element in the film which made me actually sign the horror-comedy,” says Avantika, who is based in Mumbai and has worked in various capacities in the advertising industry after pursuing her masters in mass communication (in advertising).
Prior to RangiTaranga, this Mangaluru beauty started creating her own path to fulfil her dream to acting in feature films early on. “Looking back, I can’t believe the journey since I started with my first commercial in 2007 in Tamil. I used to work in an ad agency earlier. Though both my parents worked in theatre, acting was just an hobby for them and they never realised it as a career. With no film background, I struggled at first. While working, I would prepare myself and give auditions. I then joined Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares and auditioned in almost every project,” says the girl who also ventured into television for a while. She finally came across Anup Bhandari, and her hard work finally paid off with RangiTaranga.
The actress reveals that it was an interesting script that impressed her to accept RangiTaranga. “Though I am born in Mangaluru, and my mother tongue is Tulu, I was brought up in Mumbai. In fact, I learnt Kannada for my first film, and it was the best thing that happened, and it was worth all the struggle.”
It was also an uphill task for her to convince her family, “It was not easy for me to convince my parents. While I never wanted to shock them, I was inclined towards acting — which is why I studied mass communication, did a bit of research, studied production, worked in radio station and finally an ad agency,” Avantika shares. Since she was not very social or well-connected in the industry, she had to literally hunt for opportunities like any newcomer. “Initially, it drained me mentally, physically and financially. However, finally things clicked and now my parents are very proud of me,” says the actress who also worked as a dubbing artist for various small screen projects, films, and even animated characters in English and Hindi. After her debut film, Avantika has been flooded with offers but she is going to take it slow, and hopes to make her decisions based on the quality of scripts. “I ask for the scripts early on, to equip and prepare myself. I have read several scripts, with Kannada films as my main priority,” says Avantika, who is a professionally trained classical dancer with a Visharada degree. Always one to explore and learn new things, Avantika is currently learning martial arts and indulging in her love for shayari.
