Extremely greedy, want to explore all kinds of roles: Actor Nimika Ratnakar

Bengaluru, Mar 26 (PTI) Throw a hypothetical question at up-and-coming Kannada actor Nimika Ratnakar about her choice if she was given an opportunity to act in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films at the same time. “Kannada,” pat comes the reply.

But, before you could ask her why, she continued: “…and Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi… I am extremely greedy that way, and I know I will somehow manage to shoot for all of them, even if it means no sleep.”

Being greedy for more in life, said Ratnakar, was the only reason why she became an actor in the first place. And if there is one thing that the film industry has taught her, it is to grab every opportunity that comes her way.

“To be frank, I never dreamt of being an actor when I was in school or in college. In fact, I wanted to be an IAS officer, but that didn’t work out, even after trying for three years. So, I settled for the next best thing, being an engineer at a firm in Bengaluru. But I was far from content,” Ratnakar told PTI.

And because she was not content, Ratnakar said she felt compelled to “greedily grab” when she got an opportunity to participate in a beauty pageant. Before she knew it, she was crowned, then groomed, and was sent to Seoul, South Korea, to represent India at Miss Supertalent of the World.

“I may not have won the title, but I was not the same person again when I returned from Seoul. I had a glimpse of a world that was far more exciting. So, I quit my job as an engineer even though I didn’t know how exactly to leverage my experience as a beauty queen yet,” she said.

Much later, when she stood in front of the camera and uttered her lines for the first time — as Sita, nothing less, in her debut film ‘Raama Dhanya’ (2018) — Ratnakar said an epiphany hit her: this is it.

“The feeling of contentment that I was yearning for until then came to me when I faced the camera as an actor,” she said.

But it took her another couple of years before she could taste success. Her journey, said the actor, has been nothing but an uphill climb. “There was a time when my father, my anchor in this world, refused to talk to me, for eight months, because I wanted to act,” she added.

Ironically, it was a song that catapulted Ratnakar to fame. She became an overnight sensation, thanks to the catchy ‘Shake it, Pushpavati’ from ‘Kranti’ that she grooved to alongside superstar Darshan.

‘Shake it, Pushpavati’ literally “saved her”, said the actor.

“I was brought up in a joint family in Mangaluru and my mom was like any other mom. She wanted me to get married before I got too old. When I hit the lean patch in my career, my family gave me an ultimatum, just a month more and if nothing comes by, I should get married to the person they find me,” she said.

Then ‘Pushpavati’ happened and the “hook step” hooked everybody in, she said. “It just went viral, and it was there for a very long time, trending on the internet,” recalled Ratnakar.

She again talked about how greedy she was when she grabbed at the ‘Pushpavati’ offer, which came quite unexpectedly, like all her turning points in her life.

“I have a back problem, and at that time I was supposed to have shot for the song, my back was acting up and I was in a lot of pain. But there was no way I would have let an opportunity like that pass. So, I popped a lot of painkillers and danced,” the actor said.

The song, like she knew instinctively it would, changed the trajectory of her career. “Not that I am at a phase where I can choose yet. I did get a lot of opportunities in terms of dances and songs, but that’s not what I wanted. It took some time for the right films to come along, but I am doing some interesting projects.”

While ‘Trishoolam’ will see her acting with legendary Kannada actor Upendra, who is known for his experimental films, ‘Phoenix’, being directed by Om Prakash Rao, is an unconventional Kannada film, she said.

“I play the role of a maid in it. If you see the poster, you’ll know it’s very different from the usual Kannada films. Then there is ‘Flirt’,” she added.

She also started shooting recently for a gangster film, ‘Wild Tiger Safari’, directed by Chandramouli, one of the writers behind ‘KGF’, which is set in her hometown Mangaluru.

“I just got back from there. It’s been nearly six years since I spent 10 days at a stretch at home. So, this film has become special already,” Ratnakar said.

The actor said she is also happy to be working in the Kannada film industry when it is going through a transformation. “Projects like ‘KGF’ and ‘Kantatra’ have given more visibility to the industry. Actors like Rashmika Mandanna are giving us a lot of hope, too. The kind of work that women are getting is also different. Initially, I think we were more of a hero’s sidekick. But now we are able to explore powerful roles,” the actor said.

She is also glad to see more women turning into directors. “Hopefully, in future, I get to act in films by women directors,” she added.