Actress Vedhika Kumar has worked in all South languages as well as Hindi films. Recently, the actress visited Frontpage Insights's office in Mumbai and had an exclusive conversation about her journey in films. Meanwhile, the actress also shared her first meeting with South Cinema superstar Rajinikanth. The actress said that she was shocked when she met Rajini sir after 'Kaanchna 3' and Rajini sir praised her acting. It was a very emotional moment for him. Let's find out what more Vedhika Kumar said during the conversation.
question- Tell us something about your childhood? Answer- 'I was born in Kolhapur, Maharashtra to my grandparents and brought up in Mumbai. As a child used to dance in front of the mirror. She watched Sridevi and Madhuri Dixit's films and acted like them. Whenever school-college programs were held, she used to dance to his hit songs. During that time I started to realize that I want to be an actor. Apart from this I neither thought nor had time to think. I started acting right after college, but then I took a break from acting and completed my studies from the UK.'
Question- You grew up in Mumbai, so how did you start acting in South cinema? Answer- 'I started in South Cinema with Surya in a Biscuit ad. The casting was done by an agency in Mumbai for that advertisement. Which was directed by Priyadarshan Sir. Surya sir was a big star at that time. Had a very good experience with them. I am a big fan of Priyadarshan sir, working with him has been very comfortable. He is a down to earth person. It was an honor for me to get a chance to work with such an actor and director. After this ed started my journey in south films. So far I have done more than 30 South films.'
Question- When you first told your family about the acting profession, what was their reaction? Answer: No one took me seriously as a child. Everyone thought that I am dancing because you are my hobby. They thought I might do something else when I grew up, but that never changed. I am surprised myself that the passion started in childhood. It has not subsided yet.'
Q- Have you trained in acting as well? Answer- Yes, I took acting training for a few months from Atul Mongia and Kishore Namit Kapoor sir. After this, during Covid, I adopted a new process. I did an online acting course from Los Angeles. The time of Covid was a time of learning for me.'
Question- How was the atmosphere during the shooting of the first film 'Madrasi'? Answer: The shooting of the first day was in Mumbai. At that time I did not know Tamil at all. I used to write dialogues in Hindi and memorize them. Now Tamil has become like my mother tongue. I also speak Telugu. After 'Madrasi', 'Muni' was released. The film was directed by Raghav Lawrence. This film has been the turning point film of my career. This was a horror comedy film. This was followed by Lawrence Surrey 'Glass', 'Glass 2' and 'Glass 3'. After 'Muni' I also worked in 'Kanchana 3'. Now 'Kanchana 4' is going to happen. All these films are 'Muni' franchise.
'Kanchana 3' is a franchise of 'Muni'. Now the preparations for 'Kanchana 4' are going on
Q- Did you think at that time that his franchise would become such a big hit? Answer- “Horror comedy is a very fun genre. It can be called family oriented style. It can be watched with the whole family. There is not so much horror in it that children get scared after watching the movie. There is fear in this along with laughter. It is a very interesting combination of both. I had no expectation that his franchise would be such a big hit. After the success of the Muni franchise and Chandramukhi, everyone in the south started making horror comedy films. After that, this trend started in Bollywood too.
Question- You are compared with a much bigger actress, how do you see this praise? Answer- 'Sounds great. I have always considered Sridevi madam as my idol. He met her once in Dubai too. I love her dance, performance and beauty. We miss him a lot today. There are very few people like him in the industry. It's a matter of pride for me that people compare me to them, but I want to create my own identity.”
Q- How do you want to make your mark in the industry? Answer- 'I want people to recognize me for my challenging roles. I have played many challenging roles so far. I did a Tamil film 'Pardeshi' directed by Bala sir. This was a big turning point film in my career. She was so excited about this film that she didn't even sleep during the shooting. My look was very different in this film. After this film I started getting performance oriented films.'
Vedhika Kumar worked with Emraan Hashmi and Rishi Kapoor in the film 'The Body'.
Question- Your entry in Bollywood was with Emraan Hashmi's film 'The Body'. Why such a late entry in Hindi cinema? Answer- 'I was very busy in the South, so I couldn't pay much attention here. I also got offers, but couldn't make it due to date issues. There were some movies where I didn't like the character. When I got the offer for 'The Body', I was very excited about the film. I believe that what's meant to be, happens when it's meant to be. Currently, talks are going on for some good projects for 2025. Something good will happen.'
Q- You have worked in five languages, how do you balance? Answer: 'It's very difficult to strike a balance, because each language has its own distinct tone. After South films, when I was doing 'The Body', I was having a lot of trouble speaking Hindi, even though I have been speaking Hindi since childhood. Currently I am learning Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.'
Vedhika Kumar met Rajinikanth for the first time after the release of 'Kanchana 3'
Q- Any beautiful compliment in your career so far, that touched your heart? Answer- 'When 'Kanchana 3' became a huge hit, Raghav went to meet Rajni sir (Rajinikanth) with Lawrence sir. He is a superstar who makes others feel like a superstar. Rajni sahib had seen my film 'Shivling' three years ago. He described each scene of the film and praised my performance. I was pleasantly surprised. It was a very emotional moment for me.'
Question- During Kovid, casting couch and drugs were being talked about in Bollywood. It was said that there is a lot of dirt here. Have you ever encountered such things?
Answer- 'I've worked mostly in the South, I've never come across anything like this there. Worked in only one Hindi film 'The Body'. Such things can happen in any industry. All these things are highlighted here as people from the film industry live in the lime light. It doesn't happen as much as people exaggerate. Even if this happens to someone, we cannot ignore it.'
Question- Recently many such cases have come up in the South film industry as well. How was your experience? Answer- 'I have never had a bad experience. Not that everyone in the South film industry is like that. I believe that if anyone is mistreated anywhere, they should raise their voice against it. Try to stay away from such people. Bad experiences are never premeditated, they can happen at any time.'
Question- What is the biggest struggle and success for you? Answer: 'The biggest struggle is that you have to prove yourself with every project. Success for me is to give my hundred percent in every task. If I have given hundred percent then I have succeeded.'
Q- What is your current ambition? Answer: 'Nowadays the biggest ambition is to do good work. 2025 has some good projects. I am very happy about it. Personally, I want to take care of my health.'
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
