Experiencing extreme popularity in an industry of a certain language and feeling like a fairly new artist in another industry can sometimes catch established actors off-guard. Actress Regina Cassandra is no different but she devised a unique approach to help her take positive decisions for herself professionally. The 'Evaru' actress, who made her Hindi debut with 2019 film 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga', says multi-talking in different film industries within India and aiming for diverse roles can get intimidating sometimes.
For the uninitiated, while the Cassandra's Tamil hits include 'Silukkuvarupatti Singam, 'Rajathandhiram', 'Chakra', 'Kasada Thapara' and 'Mughizh', while Telugu blockbusters include 'Kotha Janta', 'Power', 'Shankara' and 'Evaru', in which she successfully played a negative character for the first time. After making her Hindi debut in 2019, the actress will next be seen in web series 'Rocket Boys', which also marks her digital debut.
In an interview with Outlook, the actress asserts that she needs to do versatile roles and for her there is no other way to go about it.
Does working in different languages like Tamil, Telugu and now Hindi ever make her jittery about faltering at any step?
"Ofcourse!", Cassandra tells us, as she adds, "It's very intimidating. I would be lying if I said ' No, I am handling it very well'."
However, the actress, who was born in Chennai, has come to terms with the demands of her profession and learnt the trick to keep herself in control of these overwhelming emotions.
"It's an everyday process where I have to sit with myself and tell myself that 'ok, these are the things I am going to face, If you are going to do this.' Every decision has its pros and cons. Before making the decision, it's more of 'do I know what I am getting into or not?", she says.
The actress also innocently compares her experiences of working in different industries and the fanfare she enjoys, as she says, "I have worked extensively in South, and then I worked in 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga'. But you know, I am not someone who expects people to give me way too much bhaav. (I am not someone who expects people to give me too much attention). I don't want any of that."
The actress adds, "Yeah sometimes people not knowing who you are can be a little irritating but then I feel that it's just me holding on to a sense of self which I don't think is very important to hold on to. I think my work will speak of itself, the person that I am will speak for itself. So, yeah definitely, there are days when I feel I am not getting my Hindi right or why am I not getting my emotions right. So, that happens and it's all a part of the process and I have learnt to live with that."
'Rocket Boys' will see the actress play the role of Mrinalini Sarabhai, wife of Dr Vikram Sarabhai (played by Ishwak Singh). With the release of the series on Sony Liv, Cassandra marks her debut in the digital space.
It can be a great opportunity for an actress, who has a strong following in many parts of the country and Cassandra agrees to this.
She says, "For sure it is beneficial for me. Especially ever since I came into the industry, I knew that I wanted to be a versatile actor. Very funnily, I have done a song in a Telugu film (Acharya), which is a pretty raunchy song, and if I have to use any word to describe the song, it would be that. It was released on January 4 and now 'Rocket Boys' is releasing and when you see the difference between that song and Mrinalini Sarabhai, you will know what I am talking about."
The actress has been intentionally steering her career in different directions.
"You see the difference because I want to be like that and not to get typecast. It's very easy for the industry to typecast you and it's very easy to fall into that but as an actor, I have this hunger to do a lot more things. I think I have the face and everything to pull off different roles and I will make absolute use of the whole thing in the time to come," says the actress.
The actress will next be seen in Telugu films 'Saakini Daakini' and 'Nena Naa' and Tamil film 'Borrder'.
