An indication that a non-Telugu speaking debutante is serious about getting a foothold in this industry is when she makes an effort to acquaint herself with the people and films that come from here. During the conversation, Aditi Singh reels off names of films that she’s watched and the actors whose work she’s familiar with. It goes beyond the names of superstars whom every newcomer makes it a point to mention. If she’s watched Murari and Tholi Prema , she’s also familiar with films done by Nani and Sundeep Kishan, and last week’s release Right Right . The Mumbai girl is a fan of Nithya Menen. “I watched O Kadhal Kanmani the day it released in Bombay. She’s an effortless performer. It doesn’t look like she’s acting at all,” she says.
Aditi Singh was dining with friends and family in Mumbai when line producer Giridhar Rao spotted her. “I was a chubby kid then, weighing 90 kilos,” she says. Rao spoke to her, clicked a photograph and sent it to Vinod Lingala, who was working on the script of Guppedanta Prema , his first film. “Vinod sir felt I had the right appeal for the character, Sandy, if I lost weight. Giridhar explained the story and asked me to give it a shot. I worked out, shed a lot of weight and sent my photographs. Vinod sir was surprised,” she says.
An audition in Hyderabad required her to recite lines from a scene in Ala Modalaindi . The others at the audition were fluent in Telugu. “I mugged up my lines and delivered it and the selection team was stunned. That boosted my confidence. The day they told me I was selected, I burst into tears,” she says.
Guppedanta Prema , says Aditi, is a love story that unfolds in Hyderabad, Warangal, Shillong and Meghalaya. “Some love stories are true to life; you can relate to what’s on screen. This film shows how society and distance play a role in love.” She and her co-star Sai Ronak had a 20-day workshop that helped them not waste time during shooting.
Aditi says she always wanted to be in showbiz. “I was hooked to movies when I was very young. In school, I was either studying or taking part in stage performances. I was popular for enacting scenes like actors at that time,” she says. Aditi credits her interest in cinema to her father Jainendra Pratap Singh, who acted in a few Hindi films before moving away owing to other commitments. “My parents are happy for me. They knew I would get into cinema some day. I learnt classical dance for nine years and worked with Neeraj Kabi and others in theatre. The unexpected thing was the director roping in my mom to play my reel mother as well. He saw the bond we shared when she accompanied me for the workshop and thought it would be good to carry this bond on screen as well.”
Now familiar with Hyderabad and its people, she feels the industry is welcoming of new talent and insists she is in for a long haul.
