Actress Rashmika Mandanna has recently been grabbing all the headlines and received backlash after the diva revealed that she has not watched Rishab Shetty’s magnum opus Kantara. After being trolled brutally and being accused of being ‘ungrateful’, Rashmika expressed her gratitude towards the two in a new interview.

Speaking with film journalist Rashmika said, “I feel like they actually (Rakshit and Rishab) showed this path to me because getting the first film when you couldn’t think you have it in you to be an actor, (and) them trusting you and giving this opportunity to you… Honestly speaking, Rakshit and Rishab showed me the path into the industry. They gave me this opportunity and working with them, till today, throughout my career, I have worked with the best people. Genuinely nice people, lovely people to work with."

Rashmika also credited the late actor Puneeth Rajkumar, with whom she did her second film Anjani Putra, for pushing her to set and achieve bigger goals. “Puneet sir (was someone) who believed in my work, in my craft more than I did. Till then, I thought it was my luck working but after working with Puneet sir, (she was encouraged). He had said, ‘You don’t know what you’re capable of. If you actually work for it, focus, and pull through, you can anything in the world.’ I think after working on Anjani Putra is when I was okay with working in Chalo (her Telugu debut, 2018). Somewhere Puneet sir influenced me to start looking work at from a broader perspective. Even today I thank god I met Puneet sir," she added.

On the work front, Rashmika is now basking in the success of Varisu opposite Thalapathy Vijay. She will next be seen in the movie Animal opposite Ranbir Kapoor.