Rashmika Mandanna, who has been part of some of the biggest hits of recent years like Animal, Pushpa 2 and Chhaava, recently had a release with The Girlfriend, which performed well at the box office. The Rahul Ravindran directorial revolved around Rashmika’s character Bhooma. During a recent interview, Rashmika spoke about why the reception to The Girlfriend stands out in her career.

Speaking to Anupama Chopra of The Hollywood Reporter, Rashmika said, “I never thought I was that successful for some reason. Being a part of big films didn’t make me feel successful at all, nor did the visibility that I was getting. But The Girlfriend reaching people's hearts — somehow that has truly made me feel like I have arrived. For the first time, I really felt that love.”

Rashmika also acknowledged the bittersweet feeling of seeing the audience reactions, especially among female audiences, adding, “I thought only few would relate to this character. But seeing 90% of the women come out and say, ‘this is my story’ — it breaks my heart. I'm grateful they've watched the film, but I don't want this to be story of 90 percent women or 20 percent men. It felt like there is just too much pain in this world, and, seeing that makes me want to hold everyone and say, ‘it's okay, it'll pass.’  I just wanted to give everyone a big tight hug.”

Further explaining why she chose to do this film, Rashmika noted, “One of the reasons why I did the film, was because I felt that I could feel Bhooma in my heart. This film has made me feel at peace as an actor.”

Produced by Vidya Kopineedi and Dheeraj Mogilineni, The Girlfriend grossed around Rs 30 crore at the box office worldwide.