Exclusive! Actress Rashi Singh: It's my dream to work with Allu Arjun someday

Rashi Singh is a Tollywood actress who made her debut in 2021 with 'Sashi,' co-starring Aadi Saikumar and Surbhi. An air hostess by profession, she left her job to pursue her career in acting to make her dreams come true. The beautiful actress also starred in a couple of Telugu films 'Poster' and 'Gem.' In an exclusive interview with ETimes Telugu, the young actress opened up about why she chooses films, her inspiration, genres she wants to explore, her upcoming films and much more.

Presenting excerpts from Rashi Singh’s heart-to-heart conversation with us.

Why did you choose films instead of an air hostess career?
Pursuing acting was there in my mind since childhood. I chose to be an air hostess to be self-dependent and learn something as I was too young. I worked in airlines, and I had to shift to Hyderabad for that. That's how the job turned into one reason behind my debut opportunity in the Telugu film industry.

Started your career at 14. Why did you have to leave the space and go for a job to be here again?
I felt it was too young to pursue this career while I used to manage modelling and education. Eventually, I decided to support my family and be self-dependent by doing the job. It was then I shifted to Hyderabad and I got the chance to be in movies.

Who's your inspiration in acting?
Priyanka Chopra has been my inspiration for being originating from a small town with the dream to conquer the world and the passion to make it true. I love her acting and performance. In South, I love Anushka Shetty garu and Samantha garu's performances. When it comes to Hindi, I love Deepika Padukone along with Priyanka Chopra.

What's your recent favourite film?
I watched Major on an OTT recently. I loved the performances and brilliant narration based on a real story.

Which language and genre of movies do you prefer to watch and act in?
Right now, Telugu content is the best on any OTT platforms, and I prefer to watch Telugu movies or series in the first place more than Hindi. I even watch Malayalam movies for their good content. I can completely understand Telugu now and trying to understand Tamil, and Malayalam languages. I love the Dark, Crime, Mystery, Suspense, and Thrillers genres the most.

What's your take on female leads being signed in for glamour instead of performance and vice versa?
I think the thought process is changing now. We can see a lot of female performers rather than glam beauties. People are casting the leads likewise. We've seen Samantha dropping her glam look in Family Man 2. It depends on whether the story of the performer also needs to be glamorous or not. So it's on the choice we make with our role in the film. I intend to play both as I feel I can fit in both.

Wishing to explore any other crafts in cinema other than acting? (Direction, Writing, Production)
I just love acting, and I'm completely passionate about my acting career. I just want to do this till the end of my life.

What did u feel was most difficult in these 14 years of the journey?
A lot. I got to know that we need to have patience. We shouldn't give up so easily. Be it Covid-19 lockdown twice, film postponement, shooting delay, call sheets extension, strenuous work, unfavourable climate and locations, no matter how hard it gets stay patient.

How was your first movie experience in Telugu?
It was a little difficult in the beginning but it got better as my director and team helped me throughout the journey. They didn't laugh at my language or made me feel uncomfortable, instead, they explained it to me well, and that's the reason I was able to learn Telugu so well.

Are you happy with acting in female lead besides Sr actors or only prefer young actors?
What matters the most is how we're being placed in the content rather than my place beside senior or junior actors. I'm concerned about my solid character's importance in the story. Also, it's my dream to work beside Allu Arjun garu someday, if there's any chance.

How much do you take responding to societal issues as a celebrity?
Celebs have to be very careful about what they exhibit or endorse in public as people easily attack and get influenced by wrong or bad messages. I'm very much conscious about what I write about religion, racism or any other personal opinion on any contemporary issue as most people may not get the intention and content you want to reach out to. My mom has an NGO and on a personal level, I help her in empowering women and the needy. I turned vegetarian recently, and I love animals. When it's time to stand against violence happening in front of us, we should take it as the first thought. I learnt this from my mom, and I do it too.

What are your next films?
I finished Prem Kumar with Santhosh Shoban as the lead and it's in post-production now. I did a movie with Naveen Chandra under UV creations and it is gearing up for a release. I have another untitled project with Siva Kandukuri. These three movies are of different genres. I would like to explore different genres of movies and also the complete comedy entertainers, and rom-com that excite me as an actor.