Ananya Sharma on Arthamayyindha Arun Kumar: I lost out on many good roles because I looked too young | Exclusive

As a college-going student who was part of several sketch videos for Chai Bisket, Ananya Sharma received the surprise of her life when she earned a plum role in the popular Telugu show 30 Weds 21. Her portrayal as the 21-year-old Meghana who needs to adapt to a companion from a different generation won over audiences across two seasons. The actress now makes her OTT debut with aha’s Arthamayyindha Arun Kumar, cast opposite Harshith Reddy.

Excerpts from an extensive chat with OTTplay.com

On her early years in a small-town, shifting cities and consistent transition:

I spent six years in Karimnagar and I was a day-scholar student in a residential school. Those were the best times of my life. I was too young to have any stress or tensions in life, I had great friends whom I’m still in touch with. The authentic culture and small-town life was beautiful and later moved onto Bengaluru and Chennai.

I’ve explored many cities and it’s helping me out in bringing many characters to life. Initially, it was difficult to make friends, part ways, move to a different city and still stay in touch. The transition was workable to an extent because it happened in my 8th and 12th grades and I was matured enough to handle it. I feel happier that I moved around and met more people than being sad about losing touch with my older friends.

Her ‘Arthamayyindha Arun Kumar’ moment, experiencing small town-city disconnect:

I spent my formative years in Hyderabad till 3rd grade and when I moved to Karimnagar, there was no Subway or a Burger King. When we shifted to Bangalore, we stopped at Subway for food when I was hungry. They were asking me for the toppings I’d wanted for my order and I couldn’t make head or tail out of it and came out of the joint immediately. It was a very small experience but it sums up my ‘Arthamayyindha Arun Kumar’ moment in real life. The show has many such moments.

Coming up with her own rulebook for acting:

Before starting out with Chai Bisket and doing sketch videos, I was part of plays in college. One senior Vamsi from my college, whose family made a career in Telugu theatre, was a treasure trove of knowledge. I learnt the basics of acting from theatre experiences. I try to apply that from my roles and learn a few nuances from experienced actors and come up with my own rulebook for acting. Aram, my college senior, was a specialist in fantasy and the world revolved around vampires, animals and we were an actor-director duo in college.

Decoding many layers of Meghana in 30 Weds 21:

Definitely, it wouldn’t have been possible without the director, writers and my co-star Chaitanya; they shaped and guided me at every step. Though I and Meghana are very different people, they felt our line of thought would be more or less similar. Most of the set crew had people in their 20s and whenever we had questions with the script, we sat together and imagined how we would react to such a situation. All said and done, I could not fully understand Meghana and was doing my lines as per the script. Only after the release, I understood her as a person. The gap between both the seasons helped me look at Meghana differently and perform better.

Her take on marriage in early 20s, much like Meghana:

In the previous generation, women more or less lost their individuality post marriage and were referred to as someone’s wife or mother. Now, marriage or not, men and women are working their way towards what they want. Even when they’re married, they give each other mutual support and collectively chase their goals. What matters more for a marriage these days is the mental readiness, independence and the financial stability. When these aspects are sorted out, it’s alright to marry at the age of one’s choice.

On handling overnight fame and a barrage of opinions:

As a person I’m very careful about the words I chose and utter on a public platform. It was more difficult to handle the barrage of opinions coming my way. Since childhood, I always made decisions taking multiple opinions into consideration. When I got this overnight fame, the change from 10 opinions to 1000 opinions was overwhelming. I don’t take anything to heart. However, it surprises me how people make vulgar comments and get away so easily. I value my gut instinct and opinions of those who always wish well for me, no matter what - my parents, friends, colleagues.

Coming out of the protective cocoon - Chai Bisket:

Chai Bisket’s founders Sharath Chandra, Anurag Reddy are good at grooming young talent and equally efficient in giving them wings to fly and helping them find their groove. Even when they were guiding and protecting us, they made sure we knew what to do and gave us the liberty to make crucial decisions. When I wanted to venture beyond the Youtube space, I knew I would always have their back and I could talk to them if I needed any help. They’d very well prepared me for the world of entertainment.

Working with Harshith Reddy in Arthamayyindha Arun Kumar and the Chai Bisket ‘nostalgia’ on sets:

We don’t just go back to our Chai Bisket days; he was my senior during Intermediate in the same college. I started my journey in the company with his help - Harshith guided me with the auditions and he was the reason my career in Youtube took off. Shooting with him was like chilling with a friend, we used to fool around, gossip and look back at our Inter photos and it was great fun.

He is such a warm person and anyone who knows him well wouldn’t have anything negative to say about him. He is kind, quick to generate a rapport with everyone and converse. He’s always hungry to do better, wants to do more and is never satisfied when he’s done. Even with our director Jonathan Edwards, he constantly kept asking for another take to perform better.

On director Jonathan Edwards’ inputs for Pallavi in the show and adapting Official Chukyagiri for a new audience:

Official Chukyagiri is a very entertaining show but is also quite rooted in its setting and a frame-to-frame remake won’t work with Telugu audiences. The writer and the director did a fabulous job in reimagining it for a new set of viewers. Jonathan had a firm understanding of the minute details that Telugu audiences expect from a story. With my character Pallavi, he took extra to make her as realistic as possible and didn’t want her to look like a heroine - with the hair, makeup, mannerisms. I had to look like a person who’s coming to office everyday and he made my portrayal feel more relatable.

How did your understanding of corporate life change after the show?

Corporate life ensures stability and security in your job. However, working 9 am-5 pm all day, with bosses who tend to micromanage your work and don’t let have any life beyond your duties, the stress can get to you. The story of Arthamayyindha Arun Kumar may be fictional but offered us a glimpse of what people in the corporate sector go through. Every job has its own set of challenges but if the atmosphere is toxic, it can take a toll on your mental health.

How is the corporate sector different from the entertainment industry?

In the corporate sector, the manager instructs us to do a task and we need to deliver it as per the deadlines. In the entertainment industry, one needs to be more responsible; if we make a mistake, we may even lose our career. However, regardless of the industry, you’ll have always have people who judge/comment about your work. I like science fiction and superhero genres more.

How do you react to Arthamayyindha Arun Kumar being called your OTT debut? Is it any different from your Youtube videos/shows?

There’s no difference whatsover. I say this confidently because till someone pointed out this show was my OTT debut during the promotions, I wasn’t ware of it. It felt so similar to Youtube show from the making to the promotions - the content is coming out on a new platform and the consumers are more or less the same.

Are YouTubers discriminated in the entertainment industry?

I think the industry has gone beyond that. I did hear from my friends about the discrimination YouTubers face in the entertainment industry. In my first full fledged Telugu film, Krishna Rama with director Raj Madiraju, I did get suggestions from seniors but wasn’t slotted in a box based on the work I had done in my past.

How did you resist being stereotyped after 30 Weds 21?

Whenever I choose a script, I’ll look for roles that are significant and without which, the story wouldn’t progress forward. In stories where my character doesn’t have such an arc, I’ve politely declined them. In a few scripts that I loved, some continued to look me in the 30 Weds 21 mould again and felt I was too young to play a part. I have lost out on several good roles - either for the reason that I genuinely look young or due to the impact of the 30 Weds 21 role.

Has the digital space brought more nuance to female characters in stories?

Not only for women, but digital space is doing a lot of good work in exploring several aspects that mainstream cinema hasn’t addressed. It is being done on a consistent basis, giving us the opportunity to represent communities, genders and it’s opening us a lot of doors. The target audience is unique for every show and it is offering us the freedom to tell different stories.

On shooting for music videos:

With films or shows, there’s a certain pattern to how a character enters and exits a scene. However, with songs, it’s not as structured and a lot of things change during the edits. It was challenging to not say dialogues and communicate with eyes and expressions. You need to keep your performance more spontaneous and not do it linearly so that the edit team has enough freedom during post-production. Vinay Shanmukh, the director of both the videos, was a constant source of support. I learnt a lot from Sudhakar and Sumanth Prabhas about communicating through expressions. It taught me a new style to acting.

On the growing acceptance for YouTubers in films - Harshith Reddy, Sumanth Prabhas, Suhas, Abhignya Vuthaluru

I always believe talent is limitless and till a few years ago, there wasn’t an avenue for artists to express themselves. The digital medium and OTTs like aha have given people so many opportunities to showcase their worth. Priyanka Chopra once said if there’s no chairs left in a table, you can add another one. The table size is increasing and the atmosphere is truly encouraging and not built around jealousy.