'It is nice to be a heroine, but you feel your best when you can put the act in actress'

After rising to fame with Dubsmash clips in the mid-2010s, Ketika Sharma made an entry into Telugu cinema. While still juggling a career in Mumbai, the actor featured in the Telugu films Romantic, Lakshya, Ranga Ranga Vaibhavamga, and now, Bro, which is currently running in theatres. Beneath the Bollywood films that have shaped Ketika’s aspirations in the entertainment industry, she also expresses a desire to carve a niche for herself in acting, beyond being a heroine.

In a conversation with Cinema Express, the up-and-coming actor talks about her journey in cinema, how Bro fulfilled her Bollywood-style dreams, her plans beyond cinema, and more

What is your life usually like, outside of days like these, where you are giving back-to-back interviews? 

Well, either you are working days on end or you are completely free, with nothing to do. You have got to keep yourself productive during the latter kind of days. For an actor, it could be hitting the gym, going to dance classes, reading a book — whatever one can do to be physically, mentally, and even spiritually active. We thankfully shoot in schedules, which means you can set aside time for yourself or for spending it with loved ones. 

You have once mentioned Dil Toh Paagal Hai as one of the earliest films that made you dream of becoming an actor. Could you speak about any other influences in your journey of becoming one? 

I vividly remember watching Dil Toh Paagal Hai. It is the first film I ever watched. Looking at people on the screen just looming so large, I knew I wanted to be there. That was where it all started. Growing up, Priyanka Chopra has been a major influence. I watched a lot of her films growing up, and I'm a huge fan. Plus, Priyanka and I are alumni of the same school — La Martienere, Lucknow — so there was that connection I felt with her as well. 

Your role in Bro did not feature in the Tamil original it was adapted from...

I play Ramya, the love interest of Sai Dharam Tej's Mark. My role was one of the many commercial elements added to the Telugu version.

Bro, among other things, deals with second chances and regrets. If you had a chance to change anything about your past, would you go down that path?

No. Definitely not. Whatever I am today is because of all the circumstances that have shaped my life. The ups and downs, especially the downs, shape who you are. Hardships refine your personality, so I am all the more grateful for what I have gone through and do not wish to change anything. 

You have played the conventional female lead in all your films so far, and people usually tend to see the terms actor and heroine as mutually exclusive concepts. How do you approach and navigate this perception? 

Honestly, what inspired me to be in the films in the first place was the glamour, the heroine-ness of it all. But I started realising the high that acting can give you when we were shooting the climax of Romantic, my debut film. It was very intense and challenging to perform that scene, and I had to bring my best. It is the best feeling I have felt as an actor so far. It is nice to be a heroine, but you feel your best when you can put the 'act' in actress. You feel creatively charged. 

You are from Delhi and you are now based out of a totally different part of the country. While lots of young people move out of their hometowns for work, the job of an actor requires a degree of cultural immersion that other jobs don’t expect out of you. Were there any cultural shocks and shifts you have experienced in the last few years? 

I live in Mumbai now, and I am planning to move to Hyderabad by the end of the year. I was raised in a boarding school. A person exposed to the rigour, discipline and monotony characteristic of a boarding school can adapt anywhere. I can easily adjust and live in any city, thanks to my childhood. I don’t have the culture of Delhi or Mumbai in me. I am a no-city girl.

Now that your childhood dream of being an actor has come true, is there any other dream you have now set your sights upon? 

I am visualising a podcast of my own. I love listening to podcasts like Jillian on Love and Self Healers. I am very curious about people, and the thought of inviting great minds and talking to them excites me.