Pushpa: The Rise stars Allu Arjun in the titular role while Rashmika Mandanna plays the female lead named Srivalli. The Sukumar directorial marks the first-time collaboration of Rashmika with Arjun, and she calls it a dream-come-true moment. Ahead of the film’s theatrical release on December 17 in Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, and Kannada, the Geetha Govindam actor interacted with the media in Hyderabad and revealed her journey with the project. Here are some excerpts from the conversation. How was it working with Allu Arjun? I am confident that the lead pair chemistry will work out quite well on screen. I enjoyed working with Allu Arjun. His work ethic and he as a co-star are the best. I am looking forward to doing 100 more films with him (smiles).
I did a raw role for the first time. As a film, Pushpa looks super raw. But what I always keep saying is director Sukumar has created a unique world for the film. It was like never before and never after kind of product. As I said at the pre-release event, ‘Pushpa is for my Srivalli’. Srivalli is a cunningly playful character.
During Geetha Govindam’s promotions, you expressed your desire to work with Allu Arjun.
I am proud of myself that I have become a better actor and also a better person by experience. Allu Arjun was the chief guest for Geetha Govindam’s audio launch event. At that period, I felt ‘Do I ever feel like I can work with Allu Arjun!’ Now I am part of his film and promoting it. So, it’s a massive growth which I am aware of. It’s a dream-come-true moment for me. It has become possible only because of the teams that I have worked with so far and the encouragement from the audience and well-wishers.
I was nervous during the first-day shoot of Pushpa, and what Allu Arjun told me was, ‘Don’t doubt the intelligence of the people you are working with. Because if it wasn’t for your talent, if it wasn’t for your hard work, you wouldn’t have been here today and you wouldn’t have been part of our film’. That changed the whole perspective and made me confident to give my best for the film.
Was there any sequence in Pushpa that you felt like it was a challenge?
The ‘Saami Saami’ song.
How was it working with Amitabh Bachchan in Goodbye?
He is extremely quiet on the sets. But he is like a baby. We can easily find out what he likes and dislikes. When I was working with him, I wasn’t Rashmika. There was no nervousness or intimidation.
Did you sign any new project?
I have signed two new projects. The makers of those projects will make the announcements.
Comments