She comes from a place which is the cotton hub of the state and hence known as the ‘Manchester of Karnataka’, and is also famous for its yummy dosas – Davanagere. Aditi Prabhudeva, after completing her engineering and then MBA, would visit Bengaluru over weekends to earn some extra pocket money. It’s then that she accidentally ventured into acting. The actress who initially made a mark for herself on the small screen is awaiting the release of her ‘brave’ debut on the silver screen in Dhairyam opposite Sandalwood’s Krishna Ajai Rao. She talks all about how acting changed the course of her life, and why she does not want to take up other language films, for now.
“After I finished my studies, both engineering and then MBA, I started finding opportunities to work on weekends in Bengaluru to earn some extra pocket money. I would usually anchor – especially at movie related events and even took up some modelling assignments. For this, I’d come to Bengaluru only on weekends and head back home. Soon, everyone started encouraging me to try for bigger opportunities as I had the perfect qualities to be an actress. Some even taunted me and this, I took as a challenge. Even destiny was in favour when I succeeded at the audition for a Kannada serial called Gundyan Hendti despite several other beautiful and talented actresses trying their best,” says Aditi Prabhudeva.
Though she played the role of a typical village belle with no glamour, she earned huge appreciation and even went on to bag the Best Actress Award for her role on the small screen! The actress shares that it only boosted her confidence but it was always an accident as she never aspired to become an actress. “I never dreamt of getting into the acting profession. I come from a conservative family with my father practicing medicine in Davanagere. When I started liking the profession, I even let go of several lucrative job offers. There are lakhs of engineers out there but only a few actresses who are destined to shine. I worked hard and I am so determined that I would like to die an actress,” she smiles.
She only turned ‘braver’ on passing an audition despite some apprehensions. “As I had played the typical village girl’s role, the makers of Dhairyam directed by Shiva Tejas were a little apprehensive about my looks. I was made to do a screen test with lots of modern outfits despite the role being of a middle class girl. I passed it. The best part of the experience is that I liked the team a lot. It is an open secret on how the industry is viewed at with all the ‘hanky-panky rumours’, but I was very determined and managed to convinced my parents. Hence, I emphasise a lot on the ‘team’ with whom I will be working rather than just signing more films. A good team means good scripts with honest and disciplined members,” she adds.
She is amused by the offers she is already getting from other industries. She says that she is in no hurry to act outside Kannada film industry, for now. “I want the Kannada audiences to recognise my work first and then I may work in other language films. I only want to do meaningful films, than a lot of them,” she says in conclusion.
