Rukmini Vasanth, an actor with great promise

Actor Rukmini Vasanth, despite being one-film old, has bagged several big projects, including Rakshit Shetty’s Kannada romance drama ‘Sapta Sagaradaache Ello’ and an untitled film with Vijay Sethupathi

Rukmini Vasanth believes in the domino effect. “You do things randomly and you don’t know where it takes you,” she says, explaining how she bagged exciting opportunities in her budding career. Even as the actor is busy shooting for an untitled Tamil film with Vijay Sethupathi, Rukmini is awaiting the release of Sapta Sagaradaache Ello (SSE), the biggest film of her career yet.

“I still don’t know the genesis of the Vijay Sethupathi film,” says the Bengaluru girl. “I was speaking with the film’s assistant director, and he said he had seen me in a Malayalam hair oil advertisement that I had done in 2018. So I believe you got to keep trying, and something will come out of your efforts. That’s how it happened in my case. A Tamil team saw an advertisement I had done in Malayalam and felt I could fit into a role in their film,” she says.

It is remarkable how a one-film-old actress has managed to be part of upcoming big projects in Kannada, such as, Bhagheera, bankrolled by KGF franchise makers Hombale Films, Bhairathi Ranagal starring veteran Shivarajkumar and Baanadariyalli, a romantic drama starring Ganesh. Grabbing a role in SSE proved to be the game-changer for Rukmini as it opened the doors to other films. She says she went all out to get the role in SSE.

“I saw an article in the newspaper that said the SSE team was auditioning for the female lead role. I had my eyes on this project since March 2019, when they released the title poster. I loved it and even shared it on social media, congratulating them. When they were looking for a lead, I took a shot in the dark and messaged them, adding my credentials. Ten days later, they got in touch, and I was selected after the audition. I chased the role with everything I had.”

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SSE, starring Rakshit Shetty, Chaithra J Achar and directed by Hemanth Rao, is a romantic drama set to release in two parts. The first part releases on September 1, while the second will hit the screens on October 20. “The film could trigger a movement of fresh love stories in Kannada.”

Rukmini is a promising prospect in an industry which has not had a female superstar since Ramya, who returned to cinema last year after an eight-year stint in politics. Rukmini is a trained dancer, and an alumnus of the Royal Academy of Dramatics Arts (RADA) in London.