‘We all have fought in life for things we love’

Rashmika Mandanna is currently the most-sought after actress in the south. However, she has no airs about her and casually walks in and poses for pictures before, during and after the interview. She begins in Tamil and says, “Though I am a Coorgie, I spent my childhood in Chennai’s Defence Colony before I moved again to Karnataka. Tamil is my first language, but I have lost touch with it. I can still manage a little bit of Tamil.” The actress is paired with Vijay Deverakonda for the second consecutive time in Dear Comrade after Geetha Govindam. The trailer gave us a déjà vu of Rashmika’s chemistry with Rakshit Shetty in Kirik Party. She retorts, “The tagline of the film is fight for what you love. Be it on a larger scale or in miniscule, we all would have fought for something in life. That way we are in a happy place. In the story, the fight could be personal. So, this has nothing to do with Kirik Party. Dear Comrade, is another film with another story and milieu. I would say ‘no’.

The actress plays a cricketer in the film. “I play a state- level cricketer and I trained in the sport for three months prior to the shoot. The role has to look natural and I like to learn something new with each film. With Dear Comrade, cricket is something I have learnt. I had no knowledge of the game. But now I am a decent batsman and we have our own team. Vijay Deverakonda and I play cricket on Sundays. I am a good fielder too and I have bruises in my hand while diving to save runs,” she laughs.

The actress tells us that she is part of Karthi Sivakumar’s Sultan. However, there are reports that she is also the leading lady in Vijay 64. “I hope I am a part of Vijay 64,” she says. But when asked about following Tamil cinema, she says, “I have seen Mersal, Sarkar and Theri and that is the reason I say that I hope to be a part of Vijay 64.” Rashmika’s wrist is inked with a tattoo that reads ‘Irreplaceable’. When asked if it is for the special person, a co-star who she is rumoured to be going out with for quite some time now, she repliles, “No. It could be anyone. Even you could be ‘irreplaceable’.” Vijay Deverakonda her co star enters the venue at the right time and says that the tattoo in Rashmika’s hand is for nobody but her.