Srivathsan Nadadhur
Drishika Chander, the girl in Manasanamaha who made her feature film debut with the rustic romance Bucchinadu Kandriga, is not new to the arclights and addresses herself as a ‘child of the industry’. The fashion management graduate is the daughter of popular costume designer Deepa Chander who has worked on big-budget films like Arundhati, Kantri, Lakshyam, Shankar Dada Zindabad and Maska, but it wasn’t a gate pass for her launch vehicle by any means. She was taught to be an independent girl who earned credibility through merit, a stint in theatre helped her realise her penchant for acting. She bagged both Manasanamaha and Bucchinadu Kandriga with her credentials alone and her mom couldn’t have been prouder. In an interview with Klapboardpost.com, Drishika Chander talks of her grounded upbringing, about being a mamma’s girl and why she isn’t overwhelmed while meeting stars.
From the fantastic response to your appearance in the short film Manasanamaha to a Telugu feature film debut on an OTT platform, you seem to be digital medium’s favourite child…
I really didn’t think it that way but being called the digital medium’s favourite child sounds wonderful. Thank you. I feel honoured and grateful because the medium gives me an opportunity to reach audiences in the remotest corners of the world. I have friends who’re in various countries and a theatrical release for my debut wouldn’t have made it any easy for them to come here and watch it. Digital medium eliminates barriers completely.
How do you look back at your childhood?
I had a colourful childhood in every possible way. We (I and my sister) learnt to play the harmonium, the piano, sing and had more than 36 dogs together besides turtles and fish in our house. The dogs were running around all the time and were never caged. There were plants in and out of the house and my mom loved nature. As a family, we were free-spirited and friendly with each other. My parents have always known everything about me. Mom has never stopped me from pursuing my hobbies and had encouraged us to follow our heart. If anything was wrong, she would discuss it and only help us be better people. There were certain values that we had to follow and be good human beings at the end of the day regardless of the career we chose.
You have an in-house costume designer at your home, your mom Deepa Chander. You wouldn’t have had to worry about your appearance any time I presume…
Growing up, we were among the most well-dressed kids; mom loved dressing us up and we had the funkiest of pins and clips, wore colourful ribbons made of cotton. Over the years though with fashion, she would always let us be. We had developed our taste and got our aesthetics from her but she never controlled it. There’s a running joke in my family about ‘my mind ceasing to function when it comes to clothing’. Mom would simply tell ‘You’ve learnt fashion from me. So, follow what I’ve taught you. Don’t tell me your mind’s not working’ and have a good laugh. I’ve grown up with a talented mother and she has subconsciously taught me everything about style that it comes from within. If I’m carrying myself well on and off-screen today, it’s all because of her.
Did you like hanging around on the sets of the films your mom had worked on?
I enjoyed being on the sets and tagging along with her. I found it fascinating that everyone was running around the set and work was happening so quickly. I liked the larger-than-life quality of the work. She would take us to the set but we never had spent the entire day there. Everyone was smiling away, laughing and the energy was infectious. The driver would pick and drop us at the set where we met everybody for a few hours and were sent back home later.
Arundhati was a special film for your mom and even won her a Nandi award. Do you have any fond memories associated with the film as a child?
I was very young when Arundhati was happening and I remember going to the set for a sequence shot in the night. Mom intentionally didn’t take us to the set for the crucial sequences. She was shooting day and night for the project and didn’t want impressionable minds (like us) to be affected by the proceedings of the plot because we may have processed a few sequences differently at such an age. Arundhati was a special project for my mom by all means and her work for the film left a deep impression on us as children. We saw her working really hard, drawing diagrams, coming up with sketches, sticking those swatches of fabric, designing the jewellery, making presentations. She was extremely quick with her work and waking up to scenes where she meticulously went about her job was one of the fondest memories I have about Arundhati.
Did you see your short film Manasanamaha as an opportunity to test waters in acting before you entered the industry?
Growing up, I had a lot of offers to act in films and many people came up to cast me as a child actor. However, mom had turned them down, and informed me about it too. She was very clear that I should finish education if I were to take up a career in films. When I returned to India after completing my graduation and had this urge to act in films, mom told me that she could make a lot of phone calls and get me work, but insisted that she would do it only when she believed in my worth. I couldn’t have got a free ride because I was her daughter. I had to prove my mettle as an artist and she was particular about it. I was already into theatre, did a bunch of plays through which I got Manasanamaha. I wasn’t trying to test waters with the short but I took the opportunity as a learning curve. I was overwhelmed because it was the first time I faced the camera and eventually learnt a lot about the medium from the director. It later got me Bucchinaidu Kandriga and I’m happy to have earned all the opportunities based on my worth.
The response for Manasanamaha was unprecedented; the wins at the festivals, the film being dubbed in multiple languages and the subsequent acclaim from the film industry…
Manasanamaha was a surreal experience. All we wanted to do was to create a demo or a show-reel for a feature film and give it our best. We never really thought about sending it to festivals or even releasing it online. We were just going about our work, making a video that could be shown to a few people. When things got moving and the film was uploaded online and received a fantastic response, I remember telling the director Deepak that I couldn’t sleep in the nights and the buzz surrounding it was unbelievable. We were blessed.
What did the feature film debut feel like? Were you overwhelmed on sets?
The atmosphere on the sets of Bucchinaidu Kandriga was chirpy because everyone was welcoming. The experience was still something I could relate to because I am a child of the industry and have seen it from close quarters since childhood. Big or small, I was never overwhelmed about meeting stars because it was always a part of my life. When the director Krishna Poluru narrated us the story, I and my mom fell in love with it. He gave us a narration in Telugu and our understanding of the language was slightly weak. He always asked me to stop in between the narration in case we had any doubts. The story was so good and we were so absorbed in it that the director had stopped between to confirm if we were actually understanding it and we didn’t want to interrupt him at all. We were hooked onto it. He promised that my on-set experience would a picnic and the shoot was just that. We shot the film amid a tight schedule but we were a happy lot. The unit treated me and my mom like family.
Are you a mamma’s girl? Does your mom help with your decision making?
My mom and I are a team that works together. So, when something (say a script) comes across, we both read it and go with our gut. We don’t take each other’s opinions blindly, we always sit together and discuss. Before I entered the industry to act, she told me that I had to hold onto my career choice, give a good shot at it and enjoy it, come what may. She wanted me to be a thorough professional and take up my career with conviction.
If not an actor, what would you have been?
Till my 10th grade, I wanted to be a lawyer. I was very eager to listen to conversations about any cases in family gatherings. I wouldn’t miss any TV show about law. But over a couple of years, I realised it is not my cup of tea; the interest in law diminished as I joined theatre. I went ahead with a course in fashion management in Parsons School of Design, New York. I felt I belonged there, it was a puzzle piece missing in my life till then and completed me. The course forged my belief that you should dress for yourself first and feel happy when you see your reflection in the mirror. If you believe in yourself and are comfortable in your own skin, it shows. I am very passionate about fashion and still talk and read about it. It will always be a part of me.
