She hails from a city known for its mouth watering benne dose Davangere, and landed under the bright lights of Bengaluru to pursue fashion designing. However, through a few mutual friends, she got an opportunity to work in a Tamil movie which unfortunately didn’t release. Soon, she followed that up with a Telugu and Kannada film. Actress Deepthi Manne, who almost quit the entertainment industry to pursue her interest in the travel and food industry or to follow a spiritual path, encountered a surprise twist in her career when she decided to open arms and embrace the small screen. This resulted in immediate stardom, portraying the character of Tulasi in the popular teleserial Padmavathi on Colors Kannada. She speaks to Bengaluru Chronicle sharing her stylish act, and more.
“Born and brought up in Davanagere, I studied till my plus two before coming to Bengaluru for a fashion designing degree at the Indian Institute of Fashion Technology. I completed my B.Sc though I had acted in a Tamil movie earlier. It was due to a mutual friend, that I had signed on for it, finished shooting too, but it never got released. Thereafter, I did a Kannada and Telugu film titled Hingyake Nammoora Aiklu and Ikyasa Love respectively,” says Deepthi.
Facing opposition from her family over acting in movies, especially her father, the actress reveals that she had decided not to sign any more movies, and instead was searching for a suitable job in the travel and food industry.
“I had come to a stage where I decided to stay away from movies. I was in search of a job while pursuing my interest in fashion designing. This was when I was approached repeatedly for Padmavathi. I finally gave it a try and it completely changed my life,” she smiles.
Playing Tulasi has given her a new lease of life. “It has not only changed me but even my family members, especially my father who hasn’t seen any of my movies till now. He has now started encouraging my TV ventures. It is a good character and has garnered great response,” Deepthi explains.
In the initial days, Deepthi used to design her own costumes for Tulasi, but with a hectic shooting schedule, she is finding it hard to practice her love for design, though she now experiments on her close friends and family members when time permits.
“If not the job, I would have taken a spiritual path as part of the Isha Foundation. I am flooded with opportunities in movies even from the Telugu industry, and will soon announce my new projects,” she signs off.
