Her all-time favourite number from the movie Rangeela has always been Yayi re, yayi re... Infact, actress Manvitha Harish says that she must have danced to the song on innumerable occasions during her school days. So, when the director of Rangeela, Ram Gopal Varma praised her for her exceptional performance in Tagaru, it was among the best moments in her life. The icing on the cake was that he offered the actress a film with a token advance of '2,000, in a crisp new note, on which were written the words: “My signing amount to the most wonderful actress ever!”
The actress who recently turned a year older speaks to Bengaluru Chronicle about the once in a lifetime offer, and much more.
“RGV Sir had seen my debut movie Kendasampige but he barely noticed my performance. Director Suri Sir was a great admirer of RGV, thus an exclusive show was put out for him. Sensing that it will be another show where he would watch and talk about the movie, I casually joined the team during the intermission. In the meanwhile, I kept getting calls that RGV wanted to meet me.
I was sure it was some kind of a prank played on me. But when I reached, RGV, who spotted me, just stood praising my performance. Initially, I thought he was being sarcastic, but when he started describing how amazing it was to see my act, it was one of the best moments in my life,” shares Manvitha Harish.
The actress feels that as an artist, getting noticed for her performance rather than for her glamorous presence is an incredibly satisfying feeling and the greatest high one can ask for. “When a maverick like RGV Sir does that with minute observations, it takes time to sink in — that awesome feeling.”
Following Tagaru, she signed Relax Satya directed by Naveen Reddy who had directed Akira. It is again going to be a unique venture with a lot of scope for performance. “It is a dark comedy revolving around three characters. While the tale is tagged with a criminal backdrop, the plot is poised very interestingly. I am tied and restricted from moving around during the entire movie, other than the last few minutes,” she says.
Post-RGV’s recognition, things have drastically changed for the actress with loads of offers pouring in for the Kendasampige actress.
“I certainly owe it to him (RGV). Though I had been doing my best, there was a sense of feeling that my work was not getting noticed. It is disheartening when some people in the industry get overhyped for the simplest of reasons. Once, he had tweeted that he is offering me the film with '10 lakh as extra remuneration on whatever I demanded, but things changed with the number of followers on my social media and many PR agencies across various industries seeking my contact details.”
The actress turned a year older recently and spent her birthday interacting with fans. “I couldn’t thank them much for all the love and appreciation. They kept coming with so many special gifts. I also had the Rs 2,000 handwritten note from RGV Sir framed,” she smiles.
She has a big untitled Tamil film coming up with none other than Nikhil Murugan, a casting director who is usually associated with big projects. Even Tarakasura in Kannada is competed and is awaiting release. And now the fashionable Manvitha is also hoping to start a personalised clothing line business soon.
