Actors in Telugu cinema are no longer judged solely by their previous work: Akshara Gowda

Akshara Gowda, who has acted in films like Rangrezz and Maayavan, is all set for a new phase of her career. The actress, who debuted in Telugu with a cameo in Nagarjuna’s Manmadhudu 2, has a slew of Telugu projects in the pipeline, each different from the other.
In Lingusamy’s The Warrior, she has gone completely de-glam and will be seen as a langa-voni clad Rayalaseema girl in the film. “This is the first time I’ve gone de-glam for a role, so it’s very exciting,” says Akshara, who plays the female lead opposite Ram Pothineni in the film.
The actress will be seen in two different avatars in Caarthick Raju’s Nene Naa?, a Tamil-Telugu bilingual which also features Regina Cassandra. In Vishwak Sen’s Das Ka Dhamki, she plays the exact opposite, a glamourous diva.
“I recently began shooting for my role in Das Ka Dhamki, which is also really exciting and gives me a lot of scope for comedy,” says Akshara, adding, “When they narrated the role to me, I said yes despite the limited screen-time I’ll have because it sounded new to me. Not only do I get to boss around Vishwak’s character, I get to leave an impact with my role.”
Akshara, who turned 30 recently, says playing a different range of characters has made her a lot more confident as an actor. “My dream is to keep working till I’m old, like Betty White who was working till she passed away. I like the fact that Telugu cinema is at a stage where filmmakers look at you and take you on-board if you fit the role, irrespective of your previous work. As an actress, I want to do all kinds of roles. From doing special numbers to playing a cop, I’m hoping to tick a few items off my list. I also hope to romance a lot of young heroes (onscreen),” she laughs.
Akshara began her career as a model before her film debut with the Tamil film Uyathiru 420 in 2011. “In the last ten years, I’ve seen the way female characters have evolved in commercial cinema. From being there just for song-and-dance to carrying the film on our shoulders, we’ve all come a long way. Directors just want good actors now and don’t mind giving us creative freedom to perform well. I don’t want to limit myself as an actor, and want to keep exploring new ideas, characters and languages,” she says, signing off.