Sudha Rani, who has won many awards, including Filmfare and the Karnataka State Film Awards, ruled the silver screen as a leading lady for years. She won the hearts of her audience with her sheer innocence, acting and dancing skills. When she was at the peak of her career, she took a short hiatus due to personal reasons and has now bounced back as an actor stronger than ever before. There seems to be no stopping this powerful actress, who is now experimenting with various kinds of roles.
“Coming back as a character artiste was not something I planned. Fortunately or unfortunately, I never developed any other skill like branching out to politics or business. When I thought of working again, acting was the only option I had,” says Sudha, who did not have a smooth comeback, explains, “in the eagerness of coming back, I made a couple of wrong choices. I forgot to analyse some of the stories. Probably, I threw caution to wind and did those films in a haste, which let me down. Unfortunately, the damage was done and I was hurt. But, it cannot be undone. This industry is not forgiving. The moment you do something like that, you get branded. The only way to look at it now is as a learning experience.” In spite of all that, Sudha is in a happy space today as she “was never particular about the screen time I had, but about the quality of the role. That is how I have approached work – look at what the character has to offer,” explains Sudha, who first faced the camera when she was two-and-a-half-years-old as a model for Kwality biscuits. One thing lead to another and soon she was hopping from one studio to another as a child artiste and went on to act in films like Kiladi Kittu, Kulla Kulli and Ranganayaki to name a few. When she was 12, she was cast opposite Shivrajkumar as a leading lady for Anand in 1986 . The film went on to be a big hit and catapulted Sudha into a household name. And she has marched ahead ever since.
Ask her if she missed out on childhood and Sudha responds, “I did not know the difference then. I was an obedient and a quiet child. My mother would instruct me and I would follow. I was kiddish and would hop and skip around on the sets. Those days, being a one-shot actor was applauded. So I would aim to perform in that one shot so I could go home early and play with my pet or read a book. My basic level of thinking was childish. I was busy as a child -- attending school, dance classes and shooting. It was only after Anand that I quit school to keep up with my film schedule.”
Sudha went on to act in many blockbusters like Ranaranga , Krishna Nee Kunidaga , Mysooru Mallige , and Sparsha to name a few and says life changed once she became a leading lady. “Everything was new to me. Some of the emotions I was asked to emote were beyond my comprehension at that age. There were times when I wondered if anyone would behave like that in real life.” Yet, she adds, she dealt with it as she was “concerned about performing well and did not give much thought to those thoughts. That is why I survived,” laughs the pretty actress.
As she started acting really early in life, she also tasted success early. Now, she makes it a point “to enjoy every moment in life, especially spending time with my daughter.”
Where does all this leave her classical dancing? Sudha is a trained Bharatanatya and a Kuchipudi dancer and has also been a part of Prabhat Kalavidaru. “I could not pursue dance. But that training sure gave me an added edge. Prabhat Kalavidaru exposed me to a live audience and public performances and never had the inhibition while performing in front of a crowd and was comfortable singing and dancing on the road.”
Today, as she works with some new directors, she feels “There are new ideas and takes and that should continue.” She is also flattered that some of young directors have written scripts specially for her. “I don’t want to reveal much. But feel blessed that they think of me when they write scripts.”
She has quite a few films lined up including Sangdhigdha , Life Jothe Ondu selfie, where she dons the role of Prajwal Devraj’s mother. “I refused ‘mother’ roles as they are so mundane in their portrayal. But this one was different and has a lot of stuff.” Then there is 3 Gante, 30 dina, 30 second -- a romantic film where she is paired opposite Devraj.
The only thing, she says, puts her off is being called a “beautiful face. It is a compliment. Yet, for me it is like I am much more than that. I have done varied roles and have also grown as an actor. Some of my films have gone on to become milestones in the film industry. So I want to tell people not to limit me to be just being beautiful. But to know me as an actor with beauty and brains.”
