Not just another PYT

Sharmila Mandre speaks out on everything from rain dances to roles that challenge her

She was at the theatres every Friday with her mom to catch the first day, first show of a new film. She considered Madhuri Dixit, Kajol and Malashree her role models. And, she didn't rest until her family began to take her fixation with films seriously.

Sharmila Mandre knows what she wants and how to get it. "Yes, for my first film I did get solid support from my family banner. But thereafter, I was completely on my own and I think I have survived fine," she says.

Her privileged background (she hails from a family of film distributors) ensured that she got plenty of sane advice. "When my family saw how keen I was on a film career, they told me to go about it seriously. I enrolled for an acting course in London. I learnt Kathak for two years," she says. Did the course help when she faced the camera back home for Sajni, her debut film opposite Dhyaan? "What I learnt in my course was method acting. I realised that going by the textbook may not always work for me," she says diplomatically. But she's quick to insist that the course made her a confident newcomer.

Insisting that she's never seen the seamier side of glamour like wolves masquerading as godfathers, she says, "If you have a good head on your shoulders, you can survive without compromising your values."

Dancing in the rain

Discussing everything from rain dances to boyfriends (or the lack of them), the articulate actress says she's thrilled to share the screen with veterans like Ramesh Aravind, Mukya Mantri Chandru and Umashree in Venkata in Sankata. "Their sense of comic timing is superb. In fact, this is the first film where I worked without a dialogue sheet. I understood the value of spontaneity in a comedy," she gushes.

Back to that rain dance then. "I was sure I'd fall sick, because just when I was drenched, the director would say 'cut' and I'd have to dry off and begin all over again," she sighs.

Ramesh Aravind, who's been listening to his heroine, praises her professionalism. "A rain dance is painful for the heroine, but Sharmila was a thorough professional. She didn't complain though she was shivering," he says.

The actress has lost a lot of weight. What's the secret behind her newfound svelte figure? "When I was 14, I weighed 68 kg. I realised that I had to get fit. I stopped eating rice and started to exercise. I immediately lost 10 to 12 kilos and since then, I make it a point to maintain my weight," she explains.