No limits for this SIIMA award winner!

An elated Anupama Gowda, who won plaudits for best debutante actress at the SIIMA awards recently, says, “It feels great because it’s technically my first film! There was a movie that was released in 2015 but it didn’t do well. No one knows about it. But this one got me recognition — it’s a special feeling. I wasn’t expecting it. There were a lot of talented nominees and it was a tight competition. My family and friends are really happy. When they announced my name, I was shivering on stage. When you receive your first-ever award for acting, it feels great. I was a bit emotional, but I didn’t cry.” This year’s SIIMA was even more special for the gorgeous actress, as she hosted the Kannada segment along with Vijaya Raghavendra. “That was what excited me the most. And when they gave me the award, the excitement doubled,” she admits.

Actress Anupama Gowda is on a high and deservedly so. As someone who started her acting journey with TV, she’s now made a big leap into the film world, thanks to the SIIMA award for best debutante that she received for her role in Aa Karaala Raathri. The former Big Boss contestant gets candid about her win, her journey in showbiz and more...

Now that she’s won the award, does it change things for her? Is there more pressure on her to live up to something? “Definitely!” she replies, adding, “After Aa Karala Raathri, there was a bit of pressure because so many people from the industry appreciated my work. While choosing films now, I have to be very careful about the script and character. People who have worked with me, trust me. And I need to hold on to the trust and do good projects,” she smiles.

While she’s yet to sign Kannada projects, the danseuse has a Hindi film called The Fallen, directed by Pradeep Varma of Urvi fame, in her kitty. Anuapma reveals that she will be essaying quite a challenging role for it. “It’s a story set in the future — 4,000 years from now. I do not know Hindi and that was a big challenge. Also, I had a bit of trauma when shooting. I had a paragraph of dialogues which I had to mouth in a single take, while shooting in Spiti valley where the weather would be minus 2 or minus 5 degrees Celsius. But the overall experience was amazing and I’m expecting a good response from the audience when it releases,” smiles the actress.

Her tryst with acting started with the small screen, with a reality show called Halli Duniya. “One of my friends asked me to audition for my first serial. That’s how my acting journey kicked off. Then I did one movie and thought it’s not my cup of tea. But then Dayal (Padmanabhan) sir came up with this amazing script (of Aaa Karala Ratri) and beautiful characters. So that’s how my cinematic journey started. It feels great to do films because you get to play different roles and in each and every project. On TV, you’re the same character for so many years. You can’t experiment much. In cinema, you can explore, experiment and learn so many things.”

 Even so, Anupama, who is also known for hosting Maja Bharata on a local TV channel, credits Big Boss for giving her a much-needed boost in her career.

On the film front, she has Rangamandira up for release and she also had a recent release called Triyambakam, starring Raghavendra Rajkumar. Is there any specific kind of film she wants to do? “I’m really particular about the characters I want to play. I just don’t want to be in four or five scenes and one song. I want to be an actor, a performer, not a heroine. I am expecting roles that challenge me every day,” she asserts.

Born and brought up in namma ooru, this striking beauty has diverse interests. She studied fashion designing and is also a trained dancer. When she’s not shooting, she just likes to Netflix and chill! “I just want to sleep or workout. I’m a fitness freak and sometimes, I work out twice a day. I also love to cook and dish up my own meals every day. I make a lot of fish and chicken and when my friends come home, I cook biryani. I hardly go out - I probably do so just once in a month,” she shares.

Talk veers back to her award and the actress hits an emotional note when she reveals that she’d like to dedicate it to her beloved father, who she lost last year, after the release of her film. “He’s the first person who made me act. I was in fifth grade and he was the associate director for a serial and I acted in it. He was the first to ask me to put on my make-up, say my dialogues and was there for the first day-first show of my film. This was my first ever award and he wasn’t there to watch me pick it up. I feel terrible about it, but I know he’s watching me. I couldn’t dedicate this award to anyone else except my director and my dad. I miss him. I want to make him proud,” Anupama avers.