It was her U Turn (2016) that changed the course of Shraddha Srinath’s life, and since then, the turns have been on smooth lines. On her smooth take-off, this Bengaluru girl says things are moving fast, and she’s happy to have made a big career move when the first opportunity came along.
“Though I signed the Kannada film U Turn first, it was Kohinoor that released ahead of it. Before I knew what hit me, there was a line-up of Tamil films. The big one was Mani Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai , though it was nothing more than a solitary scene. I have a gut feeling that Mani sir has a specially designed weighty character in his next project for me.”
What excites Shraddha is the three differently structured characters in her upcoming Tamil films. In Vikram Vedha , directed by duo Pushkar-Gayatri, Shraddha is paired opposite Madhavan. “On the face of it, Priya (the role she plays) will be a character which all can relate to, spiked with a surprise element. There was so much to learn from Pushkar-Gayatri.”
In newcomer Gautham Ramachandran’s Richie , Shraddha plays a crime reporter, and says she could bank on her law college days for inputs for the role. “Lawyers and members of the media have a common factor in taking up the cudgel for social causes. The sheer intensity of the character has been adroitly brought about by a Mani sir protégé. I hardly had a few combination scenes with Nivin Pauly but he kept pushing the boundaries.”
In Ivan Thanthiran , a romantic action film, Shraddha locks horns with Gautham Karthik. “I had a lot of running to do. Working with Kannan, another assistant of Mani sir, was great; he gave me the space and time to get the lines right.”
Was it not a trifle early to have portrayed a harlot character in only her second Kannada film, Urvi ? “It was an early challenge I could not miss. As one of the three girls in the plot, pushed into the flesh trade, it gave an insight into the dark vagaries of life. I relied on director Pradeep Varma’s inputs and watched a few documentaries.”
Shraddha is currently looking forward to Telugu film Hey Krishna Mukunda Murari , helmed by Ravikanth Perepu, who had garnered lot of attention after he made heads turn with Kshanam . “It is a rom-com where my Bharatanatyam skills will be tapped.”
