Shraddha Srinath talks about her new Kannada film ‘Dear Vikram’

Shraddha Srinath wowed us with her sleek performance in Pavan Kumar’s U-Turnwhere she played the role of an intern investigating a road accident. Then, she had us in splits with the comedy thriller Operation Alamelamma. Now, the actor is back in the news for her latest film Dear Vikram, which gets a direct OTT release today on Voot Select. Directed by KS Nandeesh, the film also stars Achyuth Kumar, Vasishta Simha and Ninasam Satish.

Discussing her role in Dear Vikram, she says, “I play a girl named Nithya. She is idealistic and has led a very protected life. She is also into books and is academically oriented. But, her life changes when she meets Vikram, who is also well read but is opinionated about everything. She suddenly realises that reality is a lot more harsh compared to what she had grew up believing.”

Shraddha made her debut on the silver screen with the Malayalam film Kohinoor and won accolades and awards for U-Turn. She has also acted in a Bollywood film, Milan Talkies with Ali Fazal. She says her work on Dear Vikram started five years ago, but was delayed due to the lockdown and adds that she is thrilled the film is getting an OTT release. “OTT is a blessing. Theatres have their own charm and they matter to people who are seriously into box office numbers,” she says.

Known for being elusive with the press, she explains, “It has never been intentional... It makes sense to talk only when there is work to be spoken about. Today, everything about a film is secretive; we are not to share the title of the film or the details of our role.”

With Ninasam Satish during the launch of Dear Vikram

Is acting in the southern languages, especially when it comes to diction challenging? “My biggest advantage is that I never grew up in one place. My father was in the Army, so we travelled a lot. I saw different cultures and heard different languages, which were absorbed subconsciously. That exposure has helped me a lot,” says Shradda.

“Learning languages comes naturally to me and I keep having mental conversations with myself in that language to get the diction right,” explains Shraddha, who gave up law to become an actor. “I was a stage actor, even while studying Law. There came a time when I felt that acting was what I wanted to do and Law came in as a filler.”

About her roles, most of which depict independent, strong women on screen, Shraddha says, “ U-Turn, perhaps, presented me as a more serious actor on screen. That filtered out a lot of unwanted roles. Also, once I get a role, I see what I can do to create an impact with it on screen as I believe I also have a sense of social responsibility”.

Dear Vikram releases on July 1 on Voot Select