I teach at an NGO-run school: Harshika

Harshika Poonacha, it seems, has graduated to the big league. The actor, who made her debut in PUC, went on to play the second lead in films like Puneeth Rajkumar’s Jackie and the Shivrajkumar-starrer Thamasu.
The Sandalwood rookie has now bagged a lead role in Kavitha Lankesh’s directorial Crazy Loka. “It’s a love story that spans two generations,” says Harshika, who’s glad to be working under a well-known director. “I met Kavitha when I was in college and have been a fan of her work since then. I always thought her films were different. Now I’m working with her,” says a proud Harshika, who will play the role of Ravichandran’s daughter-in-law in the film.
Apart from Crazy Loka, Harshika has bagged four other projects. “I’m currently working in Advaita, Koko, Beat and Crazy Krishna, the last of which is a big-budget movie in three languages — Tamil, Telugu and Kannada,” she reveals.
Harshika has, like several of her contemporaries, been labelled a glam doll, a tag that she would gladly give up in order to be known as a good performer. And she believes that any performance-oriented role, even if it’s a second lead, can help her achieve that goal. “It’s just an assumption that you won’t be able to bag a solo project if you play a smaller role. You can be a heroine as long as you have talent. The storylines of Jackie and Thamasu revolved around me, which is why I accepted the films and I don’t regret having done so. Audiences do remember that I have been part of such projects,” she maintains.
Harshika also has a policy of recommending other actors for roles she is unable to do because she doesn’t have the dates to accommodate. “I’ve done this for all the films I haven’t been able to do and I find that it has helped. I feel that this is how the industry should work,” says the actor.
The newbie, who is a distinction holder in engineering, was firm about completing her studies before she got into acting. “I’m a free bird now. I can take my career seriously,” she says. However, she makes sure she’s involved in education when she’s not shooting. “I teach at an NGO-run school whenever I have the time. It brings me a lot of happiness. I don’t want to get completely involved in entertainment. I always loved doing social work and will continue doing so,” she signs off.
Contributed by Mahesh H