You’ve seen her scorch the silver screen and now you will get to see her in a whole new avatar. Actress Ragini Dwivedi is going the ‘sporty’ way this season.
The film star now co-owns the Bellary Tuskers team along with Arvind Venkatesh Reddy. On her way to Mysuru, the actress takes some time out to chat with us about her rendezvous with cricket and more…
Ask her how her association with KPL happened and she says, “I got a fantastic offer which I couldn’t say no to. The state has done so much for me, this is my way of giving back to the state in terms of cricket. This is rural cricket — so nothing can better than this.”
Ragini reveals that she’s quite the cricket buff and has been watching the game since she was a kid. “I love watching the game. I’ve been associated with RCB and the CCL previously. In fact, my fan association does a cricket tournament every year. With the T20 format, things have gotten shorter and crisper and this has taken the excitement to another level.”
The actresses’ childhood favourites include Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. “I used to have a crush on Dravid! I’m also impressed by Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli,” adds Ragini, who was very much a part of the auction when her team was being chosen.
“My partner and I let the coaches and captain decide because it’s they who have been watching the players for a long time. But our main focus was to encourage new and upcoming talent. We wanted our players to get visibility so that they can be picked for India Blue, RCB or the Indian cricket team,” says the actress.
With a choc-a-bloc schedule, the actress is baffled at how she’s been able to juggle so many things at once. “I’m travelling constantly for shooting and also managing the team, I’m surprised that I’m doing it decently well,” says Ragini, who feels blessed to have a great team.
The actress, whose upcoming films include Nane Next CM and Gandhigiri, has also signed a Malayalam film that she’s tight-lipped about.
“I’m also doing a Tamil film. I’d love to do a comedy, but nobody has offered such a role to me,” she says.
The actress is quite particular about doing a variety of roles so that things don’t get monotonous. “If I am bored doing a film, I can’t expect my people to go watch it. IfI’m interested in watching the flick, then I decide to do it— it’s a very simple funda. It’s not about the money that’s being offered, but it’s about how much you enjoy doing the film,” she opines.
Coming to her dream directors, from the Kannada industry, Ragini wants to work with Yograj Bhatt, Chetan and Prashanth. “I also want to work with Shankar, Neeraj Pandey, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rohit Shetty. I have a long list!” she says.
