Rasha Thadani, daughter of Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon, is all set to make her Telugu debut with Srinivasa Mangapuram, opposite Jaya Krishna Ghattamaneni, nephew of Mahesh Babu. The film is slated for release on July 30. Directed by Ajay Bhupathi, the film is produced by P Kiran and presented by veteran producer Ashwini Dutt. Rasha shares her excitement about her Telugu debut.
She says she liked the fact that director Ajay Bhupathi wanted to treat both male and female protagonists equally. "When director Ajay Bhupathi sir narrated the script to me last year, he made it very clear that both the lead characters were equally important and that he loved both of them equally," adds Rasha, who was able to assess the director's involvement with the story through his keen character designs. "The way he has written every character with so much care shows how much love he has for this film. The story is amazing, and I hope audiences enjoy it."
Rasha, still a learner of Telugu, goes on to tell how understanding Ajay was when she struggled with her lines. "Ajay sir sometimes would explain scenes to me in Hindi as well. If I were uncomfortable with a scene, he would give me time to prepare. He never rushed me because he wanted the expressions and emotions to come naturally. My role has a lot of scope for performance," she says, as she states that she was twice as lucky to have had a fun co-star in the form of Jaya Krishna. "He is the sweetest person ever. He pretends to be very quiet, but actually he's very naughty. We used to play board games every day on the sets, and he always cheated while playing," says Rasha as she breaks into uncontrollable laughter.
The sets of Srinivasa Mangapuram, in many ways, stopped being just a workplace for Rasha, as she shares her deep interactions with veteran actor Mohan Babu and producer Ashwini Dutt. "Mohan Babu sir was so much fun. My mother has worked with him before. I had a scene where he held a gun, and he jokingly gave it to me, took a picture, and said he would send it to my mom. He constantly cracked jokes, shared so many experiences from his long career, including working with my mother," she says, as she gets emotional when speaking about her interactions with producer Ashwini Dutt, who felt like her grandfather. "Ashwini Dutt garu is one of the best people I have ever met. He used to tell me that I was like his granddaughter. My grandfather passed away when I was nine, so I don't remember much about him. But Ashwini Dutt garu reminds me of him. Despite producing so many blockbuster films over the decades, he remains humble and takes care of everyone like family."
She says her mother and actor Raveena Tandon advised her to learn Telugu as a priority. "Instead of imparting any acting tips, my mother simply told me that I would have the most fun working in Telugu cinema. Interestingly, I shot in Padmalaya Studios, which my mother also worked in years ago," recalls Rasha, as she is firm that she is here in the Telugu industry to stay by getting fluent in the language. "My mother said learning the language would help me in the future. Hopefully, I'll continue doing more Telugu films and become fluent."
Rasha says that her father was equally excited about her Telugu debut, as he always wanted to settle in Hyderabad. "Though he wasn't born in Hyderabad, when I was shooting in Tirupati, I called my father, and he said, 'I'm coming to my hometown, Hyderabad.' He always wanted to settle in Hyderabad. He's probably more excited than anyone else about my Telugu debut."
Delving further into her role in the film, Rasha says that she was able to guess what Ajay Bhupathi would expect of her after watching his RX 100. "After watching RX 100, I realised Ajay sir likes his heroines to have a bubbly personality. Manga is actually very close to who I am in real life. Sometimes he would tell me, 'Now don't act... just be Rasha.' Even Jaya Krishna used to say that I was playing myself. That's why Manga will always remain close to my heart."
Before signing off, Rasha was all praise for composer GV Prakash and adds that she loves all the songs in the film. "I love all six songs from the film. But my favourite is 'Manga Manga'. GV Prakash sir has composed wonderful music, and his voice is simply magical." Rasha concludes, expressing her desire to continue working in Telugu cinema. "Yes, I definitely want to do more Telugu films. I want to explore every genre, but I'm not in a hurry. I'm still early in my career, so I'll wait for the right scripts. I have plenty of time, and I want to make good choices," says a measured Rasha.
