She’s barely five films old and Bangalore girl Akshara Gowda has already bagged her first Bollywood film, the Priyadarshan directorial Rangrezz. In a chat with BT, Akshara talks about why she will choose an arranged marriage even though love is important, her attachment to her father, and what would make her give up films. How did you find the experience of working on your first Bollywood film? My part was shot in Mysore and Melukote, so I never thought I was away from home. I’m a Bangalorean and my dad is from Mandya, so I was bossing (everyone) around saying, ‘We should eat that, we should go there, we should buy this sari…’ (laughs). Also, everyone is south Indian apart from the other actors, like me, Santosh (Sivan) sir, Sabu (Cyril) sir and Priyan sir. They know how attached I am to my family and were protective about me.
You started your film career in 2011. Did you plan to do a Bollywood film this soon? I never wanted to be an actress. As long as I’m having fun, I’m OK. The minute I think I’m not having fun, I’ll just quit. It’s not as if I’m going to die if I’m not doing this. Now I’m also doing a Tamil film — Ajith and Vishnuvardhan’s project. For me, there’s no difference between south films and Bollywood films. As long as I’m pampered on the set and they make me feel comfortable, I will do it. I can’t work if someone screams at me saying, ‘Don’t do this or don’t do that.’ My whole day would just go off. You have to pamper me and make it seem like it’s very easy even though it’s the toughest of the scenes, and I’ll just perform.
Now that you’re settled in Mumbai, how often do you come back to Bangalore? I’m in Bangalore every month. I’m very attached to my family. My dad has a rule. He said that I could only go to Mumbai if I came home once a month. He’s the boss in the family and I’m his favourite, so I thought why not, as long as I’m moving and get to party? (laughs)
How come you haven’t done any Sandalwood films? It never happened because back home I’m the typical dad’s daughter, mom’s daughter. There’s no going out post a certain time. If my friends have to see me, they have to come home. My dad lets me take the car out, but he has to know where I am. So I never even tried (getting into Kannada films). I was busy studying. I even tried a a little bit of modelling.
Have you got any offers to do Kannada films since you started acting? I’d love to do Kannada films because I have relatives who are from Mandya who’d like to see me on the big screen in a film they can understand. As of now, there’s nothing in Kannada because I’ve moved.
You also made news because you were linked with cricketer Yuvraj Singh… I can’t believe that happened. I was in Bangalore when the news came out in Mumbai and the first call I got was from Yuvi (Yuvraj Singh). He said, ‘You are not even here and we are being linked!’ and I thought, ‘What nonsense!’ We hardly met at a couple of social events because we had a lot of common friends and we ended up having each other’s numbers and that’s about it. I can just laugh about it. As long as my dad and mom know the truth about who I’m going out with, they don’t care.
Are you seeing anyone at the moment? I would opt for an arranged marriage. That’s been my position since I was a child because I’m too much of a daddy’s girl. Love can happen at any time, but that guy also has to impress my father. I would not leave my dad and do anything in this world because he means the world to me.



Akshara Gowda More stills



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