Dancing to her glory

A trained classical dancer, Archana has multiple degrees which includes a masters in bharatanatyam and another one in choreography  from Maya Rao’s Natya Institute of Kathak and Choreography. She later pursued her acting career by entering the TV industry. She has showcased her talent in the serials Mahadevi and  Durga. But,  Archana S. Jois, has attained huge popularity by playing the intense role of young Rocky's mother in KGF. The older version has been successfully played by Rocking Star, Yash.

She will also been seen in the second chapter of KGF, for which she starts shooting later this month. Meanwhile, Archana is busy with multiple small screen screen ventures and is flooded with offers post KGF release. She speaks to Bengaluru Chronicle in the midst of shooting for her upcoming Tamil soap Subbu. She also features in the dance reality show Thakadhimitha on Colors Kannada.

“Along with my regular academics, my passion towards dance started much earlier. Starting from my school days, I learnt the classical form specialising in bharatanatyam, and it has been more than 14 years of learning the art. Recently, I even pursued my masters in bharatanatyam from Sastra University. In the meanwhile, I obtained my degree in choreography too. This is when I learnt about an opportunity to pursue acting on the small screen. Eventually Mahadevi, a mythology based social drama happened which was followed by Durga,” says Archana S. Jois.

Archana’s parents, who are high school teachers by profession, hail from Hassan district. After shifting to Bengaluru, they encouraged their daughter’s love for dance and now are supporting her acting career. “While shooting for Durga, I was approached for KGF, but I was in two minds on whether to accept it fearing that I will be restricted to similar  roles in the future. However, after the release and its immense success, I am glad that I took up this offer. The audience received it well and recognised my talent. In fact, I had no idea about the importance of my character in KGF. It is an intense role wherein the character instills faith and confidence in her child, who goes on to rule the underworld,” she explains.

She is presently shooting in Ooty, for Subbu and has a Kannada movie Vijayaratha ready for release. She was seen playing the cameo as Kayadu in the mythological serial Sri Vishnu Dashavataara.

While she adds that she has been choosing performance oriented roles, she wraps it up by saying that she is thinking of quitting the dance reality show Thakadhimitha. “It has become very difficult to balance my other commitments along with the reality show, and hence I am thinking of ending my journey on the dance show,” Archana signs off.