Harshitha Chowdhary, the debutante of 'Tholu Bommalata', is keeping her fingers crossed ahead of the family drama's release. In this interview, catch her talk about her role in it, how she entered the film industry, her future plans, why she is against skin show, etc.

That's how it happened

This is my debut movie. I have done Mass Communication. I am planning to do PG in Finance. I landed 'Tholu Bommalata' through an agent. My family has been settled in Hyderabad although I was born in Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh. A casting agent happened to see my Instagram profile and refer me to the makers. That's how I got a call from them.

Never planned it

I never tried to get into professional acting. As a Telugu woman, I do face some limitations. My parents too were reluctant initially. They have asked me to do only good characters or quit the industry otherwise. My dad is into real estate at the moment. I did a couple of ads before this movie happened to me.

Acting is a struggle

Actresses don't always get strong roles. I have realized that acting is not at all an easy job, especially in front of so many people. It's a struggle.

A homely character

I have played an innocent girl in the movie. She is a software engineer who has a strong bond with her family members. She falls for her 'bava'. It's a nice, homely girl with whom any girl will relate to. She vents out her frustration in one of the scenes. I am super glad to have done a family drama for my debut. It's not a typical film. Even if I receive negative comments, I think they are going to be mild (laughs). I haven't dubbed for myself, as my voice is too husky.

Atypical narration

All the songs in the movie are montage ones. The relationships between family members are established through songs instead of expressing them in the form of dialogue. The director is a soft-spoken guy who knows how to get things done.

A nervous start

I was nervous in the beginning. The likes of Rajendra Prasad garu are perfectionists. I didn't try to be like them. I only observed them and learned from them. I feel I could have done a better job! I am looking forward to doing better in my upcoming movies. I will always be ready to go for a good character that gives me the scope for performance.

I am not for skin show and glamorous roles. I won't do intimate scenes. I know it's not easy to get only strong roles always. The likes of Nithya Menen have been doing too fewer movies.

Future plans

I have a back-up in life and I am not totally dependent on movies. When it comes to women, a lot of comments are thrown at us. It's a lot of baggage. If things don't work out here, I will be doing PG in a foreign country and might come back to India for work.

Not for bold roles

Women have become very practical. Feminism and the surge of empowerment talk have created awareness. As a budding actor, I have my own self-imposed constraints, say, in terms of dressing. If I choose a character, my parents should be okay with it. It has to be of that sort. I am open to bold roles as long as they don't demand me to dress in a certain way or get intimate with my co-star. I will then have to talk to my parents.