Meenakshi Chaudhary has achieved everything that a woman can dream of. Be it her academics, modelling or acting career she has carved a place for herself though she humbly talks of taking baby steps in the film industry. She is just twenty four and is already a beauty pageant title holder, technically a doctor i.e she is a dentist and now she has veered towards films. She has been so far successful in whatever she has done and has made her family proud. Her second film, a big budget project Khiladi starring Ravi Teja is up for release this month and this is the actor’s big ticket to stardom. She has earlier worked in Icchatta Vahanalu Nilaparadhu.
Ask her if it has been frustrating for her to wait this long for the film to complete and she says, “It has been very tough for everyone and particularly those who are from the industry…their work has been affected. We have been waiting for the right date to release it and finally it has happened, even while shooting we had to stop work twice. Now is the time for a theatrical release, people will certainly enjoy the big screen magic. Nothing can replace the feel you can get while watching with the audience and gauging the response. I can’t wait for the audiences to give their verdict. My debut film with Sushant was in the theatres for sometime and it is streaming on Aha now and now after a while I get to see myself in the theatre. All I can say is that I am lucky to be getting good scripts, and that too at the starting of my career. There is also a Tamil debut and HIT2 in Telugu.”
Meenakshi is from Chandigarh but has been in Mumbai for the past four years. A lot of work was put in to make herself comfortable in Telugu and Tamil but learning and remembering dialogues never became a problem for her. The reach of Khiladi as Ravi Teja being a mass star is touted to be huge. It is going to be an important film in her career as well, there is no distinction in terms of language . She says, “People are encouraging all content that is interesting. Right now it is the perfect time for merging all languages.” How did she get a South name? “My father was a big fan of Meenakshi Seshadri. He decided that if he ever had a daughter he would certainly name her Meenakshi. She was also a Miss India and got into acting. Ditto with me too but I am sure my father had no idea that I would pursue the same path. It must be a coincidence.”
How does she balance her career? “Now today’s time and date, a lot of content is coming on OTT but due to Covid, people have been forced to see cinema at home and we can’t look down upon it. Many stars became popular after making an OTT debut and this is breaking barriers, be it Samantha doing Family Man 2 or anyone else. As an actor it is your job to do good work be it OTT or big screen, it is the producer’s prerogative to decide where it should go. The reach for OTT is also better and each has a great set of audiences. Can’t write off any”.
Ask Meenakshi about the perks of being an actor, she quips, “It is not at all an easy job, a lot of hard work and self discipline goes into it. We have to be ready for early morning or late night calls, go to do training for characters, rehearsing etc. The body and mind should be disciplined and only becomes challenging with time and age. The producer spends so much, it is the duty of the artist to be on time, even though we are tired it is important we should look fresh and good. We can’t complain, it is part of our job.” Ask her if the film is a tamil remake and she says no. How much footage does she get in the story? “Every character in this story is crucial. The story would be incomplete even if you remove one character from it. You will realise as you watch it. My name is Pooja, from start to end, there are a lot of graphs there…it is quite an interesting character.”
The film is racy, she says and adds that working with the hero was a lot of fun. “His vibe is very energetic and that shows in his films. There is comedy and emotion and the hero is an easy going person too. He is such a big star and I was nervous initially. an amazing co-star and a human being. The director was supportive and gave me time to open up. He gave me a character that has a side of Meenakshi. There was a normal healthy discussion between us. There was a lot of love and sincerity I put into Pooja;s character. My film is releasing and I am excited but my parents can’t see it due to the pandemic. I am sure they’ll catch up later.“
