There is no doubt that popular antagonists are ruling the roost on the small screen these days. Their unique evil schemes propel the shows by creating all kinds of hurdles for the good ones, and yet they garner appreciation from the viewers for entertaining them. One such actress who has achieved stardom on Kannada television is Rachana Smith, who plays the negative role of Anika in the hit telserial Kamali on Zee Kannada.
A model who switched over to movies and then to television speaks with Bengaluru Chronicle about her journey so far into the glamorous world of entertainment, and much more including her little known talent as an amateur rapper.
“Even before my journey into the exciting world of TV started, I had acted in at least five movies including three in Kannada. In movies like Varadhanayaka and Victory, I had played character roles before I took up films in Telugu where I played the lead. In Mombatti, a Kannada movie I was cast in the lead before I took a conscious decision to work on the small screen. However, it was not that easy as I had to audition for at least nine times for the role of Anika before I was finally selected,” says Rachana Smith.
On being ninth time lucky, she explains, “Previously, I had been part of a reality show on the channel titled Lifu Super Guru, and since then I had been looking out for a break. When I heard about the audition for the serial Kamali directed by Aravind Kaushik sir, I started rehearsing for it. I would be the first one every day during the audition, and I guess they wanted someone with a good hold on the language. I kept refining myself and finally after my ninth audition, the team felt that I could do justice to the role. Now it makes me feel proud that I am part of the such a popular serial and feels even more special when audience recognise my work.”
Before TV and movies, Rachana was a model, “None of my family members are into this industry. My mother tells me that since the age of eight, I aspired to be on television, and when I was in the 10th standard, I auditioned for fashion stylist Prasad Bidapa. I worked for a year with him before I moved to movies. After working in movies, I took a decision to enter the small screen. I was initially worried about my career as I was told that I would stagnate. But, I couldn’t have been happier as the kind of love and appreciation I am getting playing Anika was never there when I did movies or modelling,” she adds.
As she feels grateful to the entire team of Kamali especially the director Arvind Kaushik, Rachana wraps up by revealing that she loves hip hop and and rap.
“Not many are aware of it. In fact, I had performed for my Kannada movie Mombatti along with Chandan Shetty. At present, I am an amateur, and I plan to take it up in future as career,” Rachana signs off adding that when not shooting she prefers to chill with her two little pets back at home.
