Aakanksha’s presence on OTT

Aakanksha Singh, who shot to fame with Telugu films like Gowtam Tinnauri’s Malli Rava with Sumanth, Sriram Aditya’s Devadas with Nani and Nagarjuna and S Krishna’s Pailwaan with Sudeep, recently made her OTT debut with the web show Parampara starring Jagapathi Babu, Naveen Chandra and Sarath Kumar.

“It has got a good response. I’ve been getting good reviews. It is from the producers of Baahubali, but what got me excited was that the role was not about running around trees, like many female actors get to do. There is so much depth in the character,” she says.

The language barrier
Though she’s happy that her OTT debut is in Telugu, the actress, who has done a few projects in the language, has, however, still not learned it. “I started learning Telugu but began working on multilingual projects. Since I was travelling a lot, it was very difficult to focus on one language. I was shooting a Tamil film while learning Telugu, and everything was getting mixed up,” she explains. “And when I started shooting for a Hindi film, I started fumbling in a language I am proficient in. Once I am at ease I will go ahead with my classes,” she adds.

Working non-stop
“I have not stopped working since 2020. Except for the first five months of the pandemic, I didn’t have time to even think,” says Aakanksha. “I shot even on my birthday. I completed three films during the pandemic. It was difficult, but I want to give credit to my team because they help with the translation and narration of the dialogues in Telugu. I am a good learner and that helps,” she shares.

Comparing and contrasting
Aakanksha notes that there are minor differences in the working patterns in the Hindi and the Telugu and Tamil industries “In the Telugu and Tamil industries, people are a lot more disciplined and punctual.

But otherwise, it is the same.  Every set I have worked on comprised really good people to work with. Also, in Hindi, people shoot on sync sound but down south, we dub for the film completely.” she explains.

Next in line
Aakanksha has a new Hindi web show in the pipeline, but declines to share details. Three of my films are releasing this year in the south — one is Sivudu with Aadhi Pinishetty while another is a bilingual, again with Aadhi, called Clap. Then I am doing Meet Cute produced by Nani,” she says.

On Ajay and Amitabh
Aakanksha also has a plum role in the Hindi film Runway 34. It features Ajay Devgn as director, producer and actor. “I play Ajay Sir’s wife, a strong character,” she says, adding,  “Ajay Sir is not just a great co-star but a very good a producer and director too.”

Aakanksha also got to interact with superstar Amitabh Bachchan. The actor went out of his way to help her after she suffered a fracture. “I had a fracture on the sets of the film. It is a funny as well as painful story,” she says. “I was shooting in Ramoji, and as I was leaving, I twisted my leg. It took two-and-a-half hours to reach the hospital and the X-Ray report said there was only a ligament tear. But after the shoot, when I reached Mumbai, my leg started swelling, and I had to use a wheelchair. Being a qualified physiotherapist, I realised it was more than a ligament tear. Another test showed a hairline or stress fracture, and my leg was in a plaster cast for four weeks.”  That was when the Big B came to her rescue.

“I was shooting a courtroom scene when Amitabh Sir saw me. My plaster cast had #tuttifrutti written on it and he somehow saw that and called me ‘Miss Tutti Frutti’. When I said I was in pain and that I was using a walker and a wheelchair, he said, ‘I will get you a buggy tomorrow’  I thought he was kidding, but the next day, there he was, with a buggy! He told me he had used it after he was injured. He even asked me for my address and sent the buggy to me. It’s a beautiful memory,” says the actress. “I used it for a week, and returned it to him. It was a nice gesture. He kept in touch with me, and I’m really happy to have shared those moments with him,” says Aakanksha.