'I can never leave sports for films'

... says Ritika as she wraps up her next film, Shivalinga, directed by P Vasu

Ritika Singh is in a happy space. The girl, who shot to fame with Irudhi Suttru alongside R Madhavan never thought of acting until it happened. “I was into boxing and thanks to director Sudha Kongara Prasad for introducing me to this industry. That film is special to me as it got me a National Award under Special Mention category. I had happy tears when they announced my name. Such an honour for your first film, means a lot,” she smiles.

Her recent film Aandavan Kattalai, also a hit, gave her confidence that she could do more projects in Tamil and now she wants to do all minds of roles. “After becoming an actor, I am getting to wear different clothes. Initially, it was difficult  because I wasn’t used to all this. In Aandavan Kattalai, I’ve worn salwars ‘like a girl’. I am feeling good though,” she laughs.

The pretty woman has almost wrapped up Shivalinga opposite Raghava Lawrence. She is kicked about her role which is in total contrast to what she had done in her earlier films. However, she’s tightlipped about the P Vasu directorial. The film is a remake of Kannada hit with the same name that had Shivaraj Kumar and Vedhika.

“Lawrence plays a police officer and we had a great time shooting for the film. I am a huge fan of his. Needless to say, it was a challenge for me to match steps with him for a dance sequence. He’s a man of perfection and has an amazing energy level. I was astonished by his ability,” she shares. 

Ritika admits that she was apprehensive when Vasu narrated the script. “I was thinking if I would be able to portray it effectively. But later I realised having a director like him makes anything possible.”

What more can she say about the film? “Two things are guaranteed in a Vasu film. It’s an interesting script and I heard that he has tweaked the original according to the sensibilities of the Tamil audience. Also, everyone has an equal space to perform,” she says adding Vasu’s son  Shakthi, also plays an important role.

Interestingly, Ritika has been watching a lot of Tamil films these days to learn the language or to at least learn a few ‘important’ words as soon as possible. “I am slowly picking up, but I am a quick learner. Already naan konjam konjam nalla Tamil pesuven. Ellam enaku puriyum,” she grins, and quickly adds she has been talking to the technicians and spot boys in Tamil. “They teach me the language too. I just observe people speak,” she chips in.  Ask her which actor she likes the most, pat comes the reply — Vijay Sethupathi. “He’s such a sweetheart,” she says.

Ritika believes that every movie makes her grow and understand things better. “I thought I should give myself some time and work on it little more. So far, I am happy with my choices as every film is different. I have surprised myself in each of these films,” she chuckles. So, is she continuing her tyrst with mixed martial arts? “I can never leave sports or martial arts for films because I have been doing them since I was three. At the same time, I enjoy what I am doing now,” she says.

Anything else in the pipeline? She says, “I am doing the Telugu remake of Irudhi Suttru opposite Venkatesh. He’s fun to work with and is one of the best actors we have in the industry. He’s always ready to give another shot; ready to improvise.”

(The piece was originally written for The New Indian Express)