A dancer, a model, a fitness trainer and now Sandalwood actress — Ragini Chandran is a versatile talent who’s all set for her film debut with the Kannada film Law. The Bengaluru girl will be playing the lead in the woman-centric film directed by Raghu Samarth and produced by PRK productions. In a candid tete-e-tete with Silverscreen, the actress gets talking about her flick, which will hit Amazon Prime Video on 17 July.
“Law’s script drew me. I hadn’t planned on doing any film, but Raghu Samarth wanted to narrate a script and I went ahead. The entire story revolves around the character I play, Nandini, who is a law graduate. She believes that standing up for the truth is every woman’s right. The film has some interesting twists that will make sure it keeps the audiences glued till the end. It’s a message to girls out there who want to speak up for what they think is right. I felt like this was the right choice for me,” smiles the artiste, who’s one of the rare women in Kannada cinema to turn actress after marriage.
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The better half of Sandalwood actor Prajwal Devaraj says, “A lot of people have come up to Prajwal and me with films, but dance was always my priority. That’s my main forte and I wanted to do it full-time. My husband and I have always been each other’s critic in whatever we do. He’s definitely my go-to person. He’s been there on the set and was sweet enough to come to Mysore during the shoot. The court scenes had a lot of Kannada dialogues which were difficult for me to say and he helped me out with the diction and acting.”
Raigini’s rendezvous with acting happened with the short film Rishabhapriya, following which, she had a cameo in her husband’s film Inspector Vikram. Since she’s a classical dancer, she says she’d like to portray a historical character like Sivagami in Baahubali. “I feel I will be able to express myself better in such a role or in a dramatic role. I definitely don’t see myself running around trees,” quips the actor, whose years of dancing experience has helped her acting skills as well.
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With COVID-19 uncertainty in the air, Ragini isn’t sure about future film projects. With the stress of the extended lockdown hitting everyone, she feels that her family, whose members belong to the Kannada Film Industry are coping with it quite well. “My father-in-law Devaraj, my mom-in-law Chandralekha, my brother-in-law Pranam, my husband Prajwal and I – all belong to the film industry, we’re all there for each other and staying happy together has helped us remain calm. We’re trying to stay positive despite 2020 being so harsh.” She’s hoping that for now, her film Law can entertain audiences through Amazon Prime Video.
She’s part of Abhinava dance company for ten years now, and before that she was with Shaimak Davar’s dance group for a while. She’s now a Pilates and Zumba trainer who runs her own dance and fitness studio Urhythmix. As for facing the camera in Law, Ragini says, “I’ve been modeling for over eight years now and have done a lot of Tamil and Telugu ads, so the camera wasn’t new to me.”