An engineering graduate who worked for a brief period at a private company before venturing into modelling and then successfully competing in an international beauty pageant, this hudugi earned her big break in Sandalwood after an impressive debut playing multiple roles in Ramadhanya as Sita and Kanakadasa’s better-half on screen. Model-turned-actress and trained Carnatic singer who has even sung for a few Tulu movies, Nimika Ratnakar returns with a multi-starrer directed by Omprakash Rao, titled Ravichandra, sharing the screen space with Crazy Star V Ravichandran, Real Star Upendra and Shanvi Srivastava. The actress who has done a guest appearance in Bindaas Googly featuring Dharma Keerthiraj is very excited about her big break, as she shares with Bengaluru Chronicle about it, and much more.
“I cannot put into words how lucky and super excited I am feeling with my second venture after a satisfying debut movie where I learnt a lot. While Ramadhanya helped me understand the nuisances of acting as I had three different roles to portray, each with completely different shades. I played Sita maa, a mythological character and then the wife of the great 15th century poet, philosopher, musician and composer Kanakadasa,” says Nimika Ratnakar who also essayed a modern girl’s role in the film.
However, when the versatile talent decided to take up acting after quitting her job, she reveals that none of her family members, apart from her brother Nitik Ratnakar, an architect who is currently working in Italy, stood by her and supported her dream to fulfill her onscreen aspirations.
“In fact, my father, who is now a interior designer, had directed and produced a movie in the past. He had a bitter experience, and hence was never in favour of his daughter getting into the film industry. It was only my brother who stood by me, but now after my debut movie, and this big break, even my father and entire family is encouraging me to pursue my newfound passion to act,” she adds.
The engineering graduate worked for a brief period even as she did a few modelling assignments in between her break from work. “Later, I enrolled myself for Miss Super Talent-2017 held in Seoul, which I won. That gave me recognition and led to my movie venture. Ravichandra is huge for me. Moreover, the character I portray is extremely deep, and is a contrast to what I was seen in, in my first,” Nimika says.
Insofar as sharing the screen space with big stars is concerned, she explains that she is equally thrilled and excited. “The entire cast including Ravi Sir and Uppi Sir, and the director Omprakash Sir have been very supportive. However, it is hard to control the anxiety when acting alongside such legendary actors. In fact, it was Srinivas who identified my talent and had faith in me, and gave me such a great opportunity to work at such an early stage in my acting career,” she pipes.
A trained Carnatic singer, Nimika has even sung for a couple of Tulu films as a playback singer. “Right now, I am concentrating on making a stand for myself in the industry. I would certainly love any opportunity to sing, but I do not wish to jumble myself up with two roles to play at this stage,” she sums up.
