Shivarajkumar comes from a prestigious family but is so down-to-earth: Vedhika
After her first Kannada film Sangama alongside Golden Star Ganesh, she went under the radar for a while. Now, the gorgeous hudigi Vedhika is back in Sandalwood after a gap of six years with one of the most-awaited releases of 2016, Shivalinga opposite Century Star Shivarajkumar, directed by popular director P Vasu. Vedhika, is, quite evidently, in the best phase of her filmi career post Paradesi in Tamil. The actress then went on to work under two national award-winning directors and returned to her mother tongue with Shivalinga. The Mumbai-bred girl also has three more films in Malayalam including James and Alice, and two more in Tamil in the pipeline and she speaks exclusively to Bengaluru Chronicle about her return to Kannada films, and much more.
“After Sangama, I was working on projects in other languages but I did not want to take on anything new as I was waiting for the right script to come along, though I did get quite a few offers in between Sangama and Shivalinga in Kannada. I think this project will be my most memorable, as it has the best script I have come across. It was wonderful working with P Vasu Sir, as it is well-known that he creates very powerful characters for the lead roles. It is also a commercial and entertaining film — a perfect combination,” says Vedhika.
After her acting debut in Madrasi followed by Munni, the beautiful actress took a break to complete her studies in London. With a Master’s degree, a M.Sc in marketing from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom, she flew back to her first love — acting. “I feel it was pre-destined for me. I have always been inclined towards acting and dancing. I was around four or five years old when I would pose in front of the mirror. Since then, I have always wanted to be an actor. Fortunately, I was lucky to have the right opportunities,” she adds.
On her co-star Shivarajkumar, Vedhika says; “He is one of the finest actors in Indian cinema, and an extremely humble and simple person. I never could believe that he comes from such a prestigious family, and is still so humble and down-to-earth, which is very rare. I got to learn a lot from him as a human being as he is so calm and patient.” For her role, Vedhika explains that such a character has never been portrayed on the Indian screen or across the world. The credit also goes to producer Suresh, for making the film more grand.
Brought up in Mumbai, she has a special connection with Karnataka. “I was brought up in Mumbai, but my grandparents hail from the border areas of Karnataka, and hence my mother tongue is Kannada. I speak the North Kannada dialect. I am very happy to be back in Kannada films. Lately, Kannada movies are doing so well and most of them are being remade in other languages. The industry has a bundle of talented script writers and technicians,” she feels, adding about her role in Shivalinga, “It was very challenging but director P Vasu Sir made it easy. Without him, I could not have pulled off such an amazing character. He is very clever and clear about the characters. He created a special playground, and all I had to do was play in it.”
The actress who loves to workout, stresses on staying fit and always finds a good book relaxing. Apart from travelling, Vedhika, who has more than 5.3 million followers on Facebook, revels in interacting with her fans. With three more Malayalam films and two more in Tamil, including James and Alice (which marks the debut of cinematographer of Drishyam fame Sujith Vasudevan) she stars with Prithviraj Sukumaran. For now though, her aim is to get into practicing Yoga and keep at it.
