A Rao'sing return!

After making a grand debut in Maanikya, where she shared screen space with Kiccha Sudeep, this pretty girl was flooded with offers. But she chose not to take any hasty decision, instead took time to refine her skills. With a commendable performance in the Tamil film Wagah, she proved herself, and now in her second Kannada film Pataki alongside Golden Star Ganesh set to release soon, actress Ranya Rao, speaks with Bengaluru Chronicle about her complete makeover from acting to physical fitness, and much more.

“A lot of things happened post Maanikya. In Tamil film Wagah, my role was appreciated, and now I have my second film Pataki set for release. I do not call it a comeback film, as I was busy preparing myself. When I started working for Maanikya, I was still in my 12th standard, and I knew nothing about films, and how the industry works. Once, I saw myself on the bigger screen, and people expressed satisfaction, I knew I had to learn the art with seriousness and equip myself for future projects,” says Ranya.

The actress reveals that she has always been creatively inclined since school and loved extra curicular activities as well. “I would take part in school plays, sports, and other events apart from studies. This is when my heart started following films, and I expressed it to my parents who were sceptical in the beginning, as they were apprehensive about me making a career out of acting. While I was told to complete my studies, it was crucial. I could not wait for long and eventually convinced my parents,” she reveals.

In Pataki, which is again a remake, the actress says, “Wagah was about a romantic saga and though Pataki is a remake and I have seen the original, it is always upto the director on how he wants to showcase it. It is a total entertainer with a focus around my character. As an actor, my job is to entertain and provide a relief to the audience. Moreover, Manju Swaraj gave me the liberty to try something new for my character when compared to the original role. A few new things also added more value to it.”

On why she choose to skip several offers after Maanikya, Ranya said that she took time to think about her career as an actor, and did not want to take any hasty decisions. “After my first film, I got the hang of it. Then, I thought about what my main priorities should be, and what kind of films I should opt for. I would much rather go slow and do qualitative cinema. Though I had to wait for some time, it never demotivated me, and I am content with whatever I am doing so far,” says Ranya.

About her complete image makeover, Ranya adds that after her debut, there were talks about her image with some saying that she was too thin and some talking about onscreen weight issues, “Once I chose my career, I became aware of what my career needed. So, I started working on my physical fitness, made a few changes in nutition, diet and did exercises religiously. My image consultant insisted that I needed to persevere and all will fall into place. Actually, I just lost two kilos and I worked on toning my body,” she adds. Now, routine exercises, practicing dance and yoga for flexibility keeps Ranya fit and focused.