Bollywood actress Ananya Raj is all set to woo people with her upcoming movie Thaggedhe Le

1 Tell us about your journey 

A – It’s been a challenging one. When I started out as a model, I had certain plans regarding my professional life but nothing turned out the way it was thought of. I had to go with the flow of the business. As a model, I did pretty okay. I got the chance to work with leading brands like Close-up, ITC hotels, Jabong, Uber, Coca-cola, etc.

2 what are the challenges you faced in playing/ portraying characters in a foreign language?

A- I recently shot for two south Indian films. One is Telugu and the second one is trilingual (Telugu, Tamil, Hindi). Honestly, It’s not easy working down south. Especially for a north Indian girl like me but my crew members have been supportive. A language coach was hired to smooth out my dialogue delivery.

3 there has been a wave of women-oriented movies, what’s your take on this

A- That’s true. I was blown away by Alia Bhatt’s Gangubai kathiawadi. She was a perfectionist in the movie. My mother loved Kangana Ranaut in Thalaivi and Tapsee in thappad. I would love to be a part of such a cinema but I think I have to be a big star to pull something like this successfully. 

4 your experience working in the South Indian industry, how is it different from the Hindi film industry? 

A- The call sheet is drastically different. In the south, they start rolling at 7 am no matter what. Bollywood takes liberty. South Industry is a boon for newcomers whereas the Hindi film industry doesn’t have much conviction in outsiders. 

5 are you always conscious in selecting your next role/character or do you go with the flow?

A- I have been choosy but hey, let me tell you as a newcomer I have been at the receiving end.

6 What is your idol role?

A- I want to do biopics.

7 Tell us about your future/upcoming projects.

A- Two Telugu films are slated to release this year. Two web series. One is titled “Lost” for Eros’ upcoming OTT platform and another one is called “High-dose”. It has been produced by a popular Marathi film production ‘Shonali films’, directed by Dilip Vasudev. I play one of the names of the lead Revathi.

8. Describe A brief on your character/role in your upcoming movie Thaggede le movie?

A- My character’s name is Lizzie, one of the leads. Lizzie is an NRI girl, rom