Sharmiela Mandre turns producer 

Bollywood heroines are turning producers; take, for example, Anushka Sharma, Priyanka Chopra and Chitrangada Singh, who have all ventured into the male-dominated territory. The Kannada industry is not far behind. Sruthi Hariharan and Rachita Ram debuted as producers this year with short films, and the latest to mark her entry as producer is Sharmiela Mandre. The actor tells CE her plans: “The production house will be named Sharmiela Mandre Productions, which will start on projects in 2018.”

Sharmiela started her career in Kannada as the female lead in Sajini and then, the actor, who has mostly done Kannada films, also made her mark in Tamil and Telugu. She has also done a Bollywood film Katha in 2017, which is now in post production.

But her association with production has been much longer. Her father Dayananda Mandre is a known distributor in Kannada industry and so are her grandfather and uncles, who were also film producers.

“I grew up hearing about production and its details, I don’t have to learn this from scratch,” she says. “It has been in the family for generations, and I want to carry it forward. I have my family’s support, and they are familiar with its workings as producers and distributors. This has been my plan for a while and now is the right time for it,” says Sharmiela. 

Sharmiela says that she has always been passionate about filmmaking. “Though acting is my first love, I have always taken an interest in the technical aspects of a film. With my banner I plan to make good films, driven by content and script.”

The actor adds that she won’t be acting in all the films she will be producing. “I want to cast newcomers mainly,” she says, adding, “In case I don’t find the apt person, then I would work with established artistes too.”

She says that we can expect a big announcement from her in 2018, and adds that her commitment to acting will remain. “I can mutlitask and a few others are doing it anyway,” she says.

Sharmiela is gearing up to be play the protagonist in a heroine-centric thriller. “It will be by a newcomer who has experience with short films. He has come up with a good subject and has etched out my character well. More details about the director and the film will be revealed soon,” she says.