Going back to school for Raju Kannada Medium was fun for Ashika

Her role in Raju Kannada Medium took back Ashika Ranganath to school days. Especially since she had to slip on a school uniform to play a ninth standard student.

“I loved reliving my school days, with the two plaits, skirt and shoes, and spending time with students, the pranks at school,” says Ashika. “Having studied in an English-medium school, I found the experience of a Kannada medium school located in the interiors of a village different. I noticed the innocence on students’ faces, who were hiding and watching me from far during the shoot. It was a fun experience. Moreover, memories of my school days were fresh in my mind because I was still in my first-year of graduation when I shot for this film,” she says.

This school story comes with a romance, and that is one element Ashika could not relate to. “I haven’t experienced that in real life,” she chuckles.

The actor had accepted this role in Raju Kannada Medium even before she made her debut with Crazy Boy. “This role came to me early in my career. I remember shooting scenes of this film one-and-half-years ago, after which I did Mugulu Nage, Mass Leader and now Rambo 2 and Thayige Takka Maga,” she says.

Raju Kannada Medium, directed by Naresh Kumar, features Gurunandan and Avantika Shetty in the lead. It was important for Ashika to make her presence felt in this film, even though she was sharing screen space with another heroine.

“I was the heroine in Crazy Boy but my performance was not noticed all that much. In contrast, in Mugulu Nage, there were three heroines but a large section of filmgoers took notice of me. A film can’t run only on the hero and heroine, it needs story and characters. I think it depends on how we light up the space we are given,” says the actor, who can now pick and choose her roles. “I don’t take every offer that comes my way, I work only in films that suit and interest me,” she says.

Ashika is now shooting for Rambo 2 and has to complete a song in Garuda, after that she will join the sets of Thayige Takka Maga from the first week of February. She does not want to put too much pressure on herself, by signing on too many projects. “There is plenty of work to be done but you have to make time for your personal life. I don’t like working under pressure,” she says.