Exclusive! It’s a little frustrating that two years since Dia, I am still only known by that film: Kushee Ravi

Kushee loves the fact that she got to debut with a strong character, but as an artiste, she says it is time for her to move on. The actress has done two films since and is working on a third, but the pandemic has delayed everything.

Kushee Ravi

It’s nearly two years since the Kannada film Dia released and catapulted its three lead characters, Kushee Ravi, Dheekshith Shetty and Pruthvi Ambaar, to instant fame. While the pandemic struck shortly after, all three of them have been busy with new and exciting projects. In fact, Kushee has two films ready for release – Nakshe and Spooky College – but they’ve just not been able to make it to theatres because of the pandemic.

“This also means that the last two years have only been about Dia. I love the role and the recognition it got me, but as an artiste, I need to be able to move on and do other exciting work that audiences see and appreciate. I can’t be known as the Dia girl all throughout. Since Dia, I have done two films – Nakshe and Spooky College - but owing to the pandemic, their releases have been delayed. Thankfully, I have got projects that are very different from Dia; it is a wee bit frustrating that they are not reaching the audience, though,” she says, adding, “I was very lucky to get such a good and powerful role as my debut as a leading lady. Although I had done a film earlier, Hingyaake, directed by TN Seetharam’s son, Satyajit, I was only a supporting character in it. Right now, people have a lot of expectations of me as an artiste and I don’t want to break that. I don’t want to be the glam element in a film, do a few scenes or maybe just song-and-dance routines. I want my character to register and when audiences leave the theatre, it should linger. I have only been looking for such roles, and believe I have got them in my next two, as well a new untitled film I am doing with Pruthvi again.”

The actress adds that the delay in the release of her follow-up films got her wondering if audiences will forget her. “So, I thought the next best thing was to quick smaller projects like music videos and short films and began listening to such scripts. Two of my music videos – Cake and Adipoli – came out, as well as a short film called Ikshana, directed by the scriptwriter of Gubbi Mele Brahmastra, Prasanna VM. The concept of this short film is really good and focuses on breaking gender stereotypes. In fact, the response to it has been beyond our wildest dreams and has clocked more than one million views on YouTube. Audiences really connected to the featured conversation between a father and daughter. Truth be told, I was a little scared initially, wondering how people will react to the things said in the film and if it will be misinterpreted. The character was, after all, quite outspoken. It felt good that it did well. After that I did a sci-fi short film called Everything is Possible, which is currently in post-production, and Sangama Samagama, by Prasad Kanteerava, who recently released a short called Thank You, starring Shine Shetty. This should also come out soon,” she says.

Interestingly, Kushee is also one of the few actresses who has been managing a bustling career post-marriage and as a young mother. “Initially, nobody knew that I was married and had a kid, but even after they heard, they all took it in a positive spirit. Yes, there was the odd voice that my relationship status would adversely affect my fan base and that there would be no coming back for me, but the opposite happened for me. In fact, since people realised that I am a mother, I have had script narrations for at least 30-40 films, most of which were very good. I was happy and proud that the trend is definitely changing here and that people don’t care whether an actress is married, has a kid, etc. All that matters now is your dedication to the craft and the hard work you put in,” she explains, adding that credit goes to her family for pitching in and supporting her in her career. “There have been times when I have stayed away from home for 20-25 days at a stretch and my family rallied around to take care of my daughter, who, thankfully, is not cranky and does not hanker for my attention all the time. But it’s not just with childcare that I get support; my husband is a film buff and watches content from across the globe. He often discusses scripts and subjects with me and helps me decide the roles to pick. I’ve realized that there are subjects that I thought seemed ok, but when discussed with a third person, didn’t sound so interesting after all. It’s good to take a second or even third opinion before committing to something that you are not totally convinced about,” she says.

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