Roopika returns with a horror flick

Kannada actress Roopika has been away from the big screen for close to two years, and is now set to return with director Vishruth Naik’s horror flick, Manjari.
“I was on a self-imposed hiatus from the industry as I wanted to focus on my general fitness. I was always rather plump and during the making of one of my films, Ingale Marga, I felt that I looked really huge onscreen.While I do believe that one needs to be comfortable in his/her skin, there is no denying that looks matter in the film industry. Excess weight tends to make you look much older than what you actually are and I did not want that to happen to me, considering that I am still young,” says Roopika.
Over the course of the next year-and-a-half, the actress went on a strict gym-and-diet regimen that helped her knock off 18 kgs. “I am a classical dancer and had launched my dance academy, so the workouts and the school kept me busy during this time. I did not miss being on film sets,” she adds.
Her comeback film, says Roopika, is a horror flick, albeit one with all elements of a commercial potboiler. “I really like the script and Vishruth’s treatment of the subject. The second half, especially, gives me a lot of scope to perform. In fact, I have even done certain sequences without a stunt double. There are several shots during which I was tethered to a rope and pulled back, and during one shot, I lost my balance and nearly hit my face on the crane. I missed it by a whisker. After that Vishruth was particular that we take all precaution before canning any shot,” says the actress.