Crunching the reel number game

She comes from a family of bankers. The Kerala born model-turned-actress has seen remarkable success in Sandalwood with her filmography. Her earlier venture Tyson, was a great addition to her career, with offers multiplying. She recently wrapped up shooting for Jaggu Dada, starring Challenging Star Darshan wherein she portrays  one of the glamorous faces along with other actresses — Urmila Gayathri, a graduate in mechanical engineering, speaks exclusively with Bengaluru Chronicle, about her journey so far and her love for maths, and more!

“While modelling, I got into acting in Sandalwood when I was still studying my engineering. After my first venture, I took some time off to complete my studies and return to acting. In fact, it is very gratifying to be associated with Sandalwood, which respects true talent and does not differentiate between actors, whether they come from north India or south India. The respect is more in Sandalwood, and that is why I stayed here, and love doing Kannada films,” says Urmila Gayathri.

She hails from a family of bankers, with both her parents into banking and her brother studying to become a Chartered Accountant. “I have always been very good at studies. In fact, I was the topper in both 10th and 12th standard (CBSE), and scored well in mathematics which has been my favourite subject. Later, I did my mechanical engineering,” she says.

In Jaggu Dada, which she just completed shooting for, Urmila plays the character of a dumb but funny girl who is so in love with the character played by Darshan. She adds that, her character is close to what she portrayed in Namo Bhootatma.

“It was great fun shooting for Jaggu Dada. The girl I play is bindaas, an item dancer though there are no scenes which depict her performing an item number in the film. Moreover, I am thrilled that I am dubbing in my voice for the character in Jaggu Dada, for the first time. Though, I was very fluent in Kannada by the time I finished shooting for Tyson, the director was unsure of my diction and pronunciation. However, I will be dubbing my voice now,” she adds.

She started her modelling career while she was still studying. “My seniors pushed me to do fashion shows in college which led to modelling as a past-time while studies. It soon became a passion, and I went onto shoot several commercials for TV and print. Fortunately, someone noticed me, and later I was shooting for my Sandalwood film alongside Vijay Raghavendra in Shravana. Thereafter, I took a break to finish my course, and returned for good in Namo Bhootatma,” says Urmila, adding that though she is flooded with offers post Tyson, she is determined to choose quality films.

Urmila she admits that though she has a strong educational background, she is addicted to movies and cannot think of another profession. “I just live for the moment, and do not plan for tomorrow,” she says adding that she even acted in a small-time Hollywood project titled Ride which is due for release shortly.