Sapthami Gowda: When we made Kantara, we’d set out to make an honest, rooted Kannada film

The actress’ portrayal of Leela in the blockbuster film fetched her the Rising Star of the Year (Female) award at the OTTplay Changemakers 2023

Sapthami Gowda with her award

Sapthami Gowda was all of one film old when she was called to audition for a role for which she’d have not only have to go deglam, but also pick up a Kannada dialect she was not familiar with. Her skin was darkened several shades and she had to learn Mangaluru-style Kannada. But even after days of attending workshops as part of the audition, she wasn’t sure if she was going to be a part of the film. When the team eventually did finalize her as the leading lady, she was overjoyed for multiple reasons – it would be her first solo heroine project (she debuted with Popcorn Monkey Tiger as one of three leading ladies), she’d get to work with Rishab Shetty and the film was being backed by Hombale Films, which was fresh off the success of KGF: Chapter 2. It could not get better than this, she thought.

But it did actually get a lot better, what with the film – Kantara – going on to take the whole nation by storm. As Rishab’s love interest Leela, Sapthami had a pivotal role in the film, a portrayal that then led her to bag a role in The Kashmir Files maker Vivek Agnihotri’s next, The Vaccine War, as well as leading roles opposite two upcoming star kids in Kannada films – Abishek Ambareesh and Yuva Rajkumar. It is no wonder, then, that Sapthami Gowda was OTTplay’s unanimous choice as the Rising Star of the Year (Female) award at the OTTplay Changemakers Awards 2023 in Mumbai.

“I feel blessed and grateful to have been a part of Kantara. This was a well-rooted story, wherein we stuck to what we know and that made all the difference. I’m glad that Rishab sir gave me the opportunity to be a part Kantara, because of which I am here to. We always stick to our roots; for us, we go back to our anna -sambar every day, so that’s what it is,” she had said after receiving her award.

Read also: Exclusive! Sapthami Gowda: Kantara is my first film as lead heroine; I’m grateful to Rishab sir for the way he’s written Leela

Elaborating on the good year that Kannada cinema had in 2022, Sapthami said, “We had KGF: Chapter 2, then 777 Charlie, Vikrant Rona and Kantara. Our film was just an honest attempt from the team; we set out to make a Kannada movie. There was no plan to make a blockbuster or a pan-India film. But god’s grace, we were shown so much love and blessing from people all over the world.”

So, what’s the road ahead looking like? “I really don’t have expectations; I just take one step at a time. I am looking for different characters to portray; Leela was one such. I have a few more lined; I’ve just finished working on my Bollywood debut, The Vaccine War. I had a fun experience shooting for it,” she signs off.

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