Never lost faith in myself or stopped trying: Actor Rukshar Dhillon tells TNM

Talking about her role in the upcoming Telugu film ‘Krishnarjuna Yuddham’, Rukshar reveals why the film is a significant one in her career.
Never lost faith in myself or stopped trying: Actor Rukshar Dhillon tells TNM
Never lost faith in myself or stopped trying: Actor Rukshar Dhillon tells TNM

Two years ago, when Rukshar Dhillon played a lead role in writer-turned-director SS Kanchi’s Showtime, the actor pinned high hopes on the film to launch her career in Telugu cinema. In fact, she even thanked MM Keeravani and SS Rajamouli for their support and encouragement while doing the film.

Ironically, the film never saw daylight. Then her second film, Aakatayi, turned out to be a flop at the box office. However, the former model-turned-actor confesses that she has absolutely no qualms about how things have turned out for her.

“I never lost faith in myself and I didn’t stop trying. Everyone faces a few hurdles in their journey and finally when you accomplish your goals, you’ll value it even more. Both the films helped me learn a lot about acting and when I got an offer to act in Krishnarjuna Yuddham, alongside Nani, I wasn’t a novice who was clueless about facing the camera,” Rukshar says.

The actor confesses to being quite overwhelmed and emotional about her upcoming film Krishnarjuna Yuddham, which is also going to be the first big film in her career so far.

“I’m really anxious now,” Rukshar laughs, adding, “It’s kind of overwhelming when you realise that this film is going to be your calling card and a lot more people are going to watch it compared to your previous films. Prior to my debut in films, I had no connections in the film industry at all. So, when I look back, I’m content that my perseverance and hard work has paid off. I’m still very new to showbiz and everything feels like a dream. I never planned my career and just went with the flow right from the beginning. I just want to do a good job.”

In the film, directed by Merlapaka Gandhi, Rukshar plays Riya, a city-bred girl, who returns to her native village to spend time with her grandfather.

“There’s a cute romantic track between Riya and Krishna (Nani), who volunteers to be my guide in the village. Although I have never lived in a village before, I did spend quite some time in my ancestral village in Punjab when I was young. However, the locales in Pollachi, where we shot the film, were quite new to me. Moreover, when I first joined the sets of the film, I didn’t know how to be Riya and at the same time, I had to pretend to be someone who hasn’t been to a village before. Gandhi was very clear about what he wanted me to do and the only thing he told me was to be as natural as I can. I’m glad that he gave me all that freedom because I didn’t have to restrain myself,” the actor reveals.

Apart from Pollachi, Rukshar also shot in Goa for a few days, and she recalls being ecstatic about going back to a place where she spent nearly 13 years of her life as a kid.

“I studied in Goa till Class 9, before my family moved to Bangalore. I never imagined that one day I’d go back to the same place to shoot for a film. That was the most memorable part of the whole journey,” she gushes.

One day, while shooting in Goa, she shocked a few onlookers, who came to the shoot to click pictures with the cast, when she interacted with them in Konkani. “They were quite surprised to find someone acting in a south Indian film speak to them in Konkani (laughs). It was fun revisiting some of the places I grew up in, but we shot in a lot of places in Goa which I’ve never seen in my life.”

Comparing present-day Goa to the one she grew up in, Rukshar adds, “It’s become so commercial and crowded, if you know what I mean. It used to be such a quiet place. The most Goan thing someone from Goa would do is not work at all between 1 - 4 pm on any given day and spend all that time in eating and sleeping (laughs).”

Post Krishnarjuna Yuddham, the actor is already in talks with an acclaimed Telugu director for her next movie. “I’m not allowed to talk about it, but I’m really happy that the Telugu film industry is slowly opening its doors for me. It’s an exciting phase in my career,” she says.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com