Young women prefer older men: Radhika Apte

There has been no looking back for the stunning Radhika Apte ever since she worked in Shor in the City — and the actress feels that she’s lucky to have been offered varied roles. “Yes! I am really blessed that these films are literally falling in my kitty. Directors can see me in different avatars. A chance to work with Rajini sir bestowed upon me, is like a dream come true.”

About her film Phobia, which is set to release soon, she says, “The character in the film has experienced something wild — her struggle with fear after that incident is the ‘phobia’ that she encounters every now and then.”

What’s her real-life phobia? “I am a fearless girl in reality; I do what I would like to do. I never repent or regret what I may have done. I keep doing everything that comes to my mind, so that I’ll never feel I missed doing something in life. However, if there’s one thing I fear — it’s death!” she exclaims.

Coming to the brighter side of her career, Radhika says that she’s really thrilled to be playing the Superstar’s wife in Kabali — “Who wouldn’t feel ecstatic?”

But being the wife of such a grown up man? “Oh! Even in real life too, since several years in the past, women love falling for older men and prefer them; they see their father in them... so being his wife on reel was indeed a pleasure for me,” Radhika grins.

Reminiscing on her first meeting with Rajnikanth, she says,” On the first day of my shoot, I wanted to meet Rajini sir before going onto the sets. On approaching his van, I was surprised to see him waiting outside to welcome me! He greeted me whole-heartedly and in such a humble manner inspite of being a huge star; I was really very impressed with this gesture.”

Radhika does not stop there with her awe of the Super-star, ”My first shot with him was really fantastic; it happened in just one take! I had many lines to recite in English, while Rajini sir did not have a single line at all. I was desperately hoping I wouldn’t mess up — finally I spoke the dialogues in English without any fumble.”

And then? “Rajini sir came up to me patting my back, and congratulated me saying, ‘You are a fantastic actor!’ What more can I expect from a star of his stature? My day was made, and my happiness knew no bounds,” she concludes.