Like the historic Charminar, which is a symbol of monumental beauty, this Coorg beauty has encountered something special with another kind of Charminar!
After making a mark in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil, Harshika Poonacha has now bagged a beautiful ticket to Mollywood. In her debut movie in Malayalam titled Charminar, she plays a Mallu girl based in Bengaluru. The actress who is fluent in all South Indian languages including Kodava, Tulu and Konkani, talks all about her new exciting journey, and much more.
“Even as my debut Tamil movie Un Kadhal Yerrindhal is yet to release, I have taken up a very special project in Malayalam. I could not have asked for more especially when I was told that the team had auditioned at least 1,500 girls for the role. It may sound exaggerated but the team was very particular about the girl’s character who had to look good in both Indian and as well hold herself well as a Western super model. Some matched perfectly for the model’s part and others for Indian girl’s character, and hence the search continued. Finally, when someone referred my name along with my portfolio, I fit both the roles, as a pakka desi, geeky looking girl and a model, so they approached me,” says Harshika Poonacha.
Her debut Malayalam movie is being directed by Ajith C Logesh, and has two male actors in the lead — Ashwin Kumar and Hemanth Menon. While her latest Kannada movie Upendra Matte Baa, starring alongside Real Star Upendra sees her play a special cameo appearance, it also includes a ‘real’ foot tapping number releasing this week, she has signed another in Kannada titled Chitte.
Back to her Mollywood debut, the actress reveals that it has a special connection with namma Kannada. “As I play a Mallu girl in Bengaluru, I get to speak Kannada in some parts of Charminar. This is something I improvised and convinced my director that I would speak in Kannada whenever I am happy and excited. As I said, I have two shades to my character, the transformation from an ordinary typical Indian girl to super model is the best part.”
With regard to her multi-lingual skills, she adds that living in Bengaluru has helped her learn all the south Indian languages. “Language has never been a problem and I feel it is a ‘power’ to me. I can speak Kannada, Kodava, Konkani, Tuli, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and English fluently. Nobody reads me my lines, I understand the emotions behind it and deliver,” she adds. Before flying away like a Chitte, she shares her Bollywood dreams: “When I had been for my photoshoot, I did come across several offers to work including a project of Madhur Bhandarkar, and another one starring Sanjay Dutt. I was almost starting shooting for one them but they asked me to shift my base to Mumbai. I was in a confused state of mind with commitments down South and my prime intention was to make a name for myself in Kannada first, thus it kept me from it. Moreover, I could not leave my parents. I, sometimes regret it but I am hopeful about it, and also glad that I am heading in the right direction,” she signs off.
