Bollywood actress Kiara Advani admits that she could not have had a better launch pad in the South than the Mahesh Babu-starrer Bharat Ane Nenu. “I am blessed to make my debut with a Mahesh Babu film under director Koratala Siva garu, and am grateful to the entire team for their faith in me,” says the actress.
Talking about her journey in films, Kiara reveals, “I always wanted to come into show business after my graduation. But being an actress is not just about glamour, there’s also a lot of hard work that goes into it. It made me more understanding and empathetic. Also, I’m naturally inquisitive and love listening to people.”
She adds, “One needs to have endurance and determination to act, and be focussed too. No matter what happens to you, on screen, you have to remain unaffected.”
As for the best part about being an actress, Kiara shares, “Every time I am on the sets, I am happy, and that’s what I came here for. People are very passionate about what they do and playing the roles of various women is absolute bliss.”
Talking about her role in the film, she says, “I play a local Hyderabadi young girl, which every girl — be it a college-goer or a working professional — can connect to. Even older women can recall their college days.”
She adds, “Language has been the biggest challenge, but thankfully the director used to send me the dialogues in advance. I can pick up lines quickly and even though I am not fluent in Telugu, I picked it up slowly as the shooting progressed. Ultimately, it’s all about getting the emotions right.”
Showering praise over co-star Mahesh Babu, Kiara says, “He doesn’t take his superstar status seriously. He doesn’t have any baggage and even helped me with my lines. We discussed a lot about films and bonded over travel and organic food.”
