I chose to take risks & see where they lead: Manasa Varanasi

Reinvention has been a constant in Manasa Varanasi’s journey: from software engineer to beauty pageant winner, and now, an actor. Since the release of the romantic drama Couple Friendly last month, her career has found a new gear. Currently filming her Tamil debut alongside Sasikumar in Chennai, the actress opens up about the lessons leant from her recent hit, finding her voice as a performer and her leap into a bigger cinematic canvas. Excerpts...

‘I’ve learnt that it’s really about facing my fears and choosing to move forward’

Talking about her transition from tech to pageantry to acting, Manasa shares, “It has been quite a journey for me. Before becoming a beauty queen, I was a software engineer doing a 9-5 job for two years, so that itself was a major shift in identity. Then, I had to once again move beyond that and transition into acting. That shift has been a big process in itself. But I think that’s what life is really about — adventure, new experiences, exploring who we are, and taking risks and chances.” Every transition has come with its share of fear. “But over time, I’ve learnt that it’s really about facing my fears and choosing to move forward anyway. I chose to take risks and see where they lead. I keep reminding myself that it’s okay, that I can handle what comes my way,” she adds.

‘My engineering days meant bunking classes for movies’

Cinema became a bigger part of her life after she moved to Hyderabad from Malaysia. “I grew up in Malaysia and spent around 10 years of my schooling there. At that time, the only Telugu films that were usually screened were those of Mahesh Babu garu and Pawan Kalyan garu. So most of my early movie memories are connected to watching their films. It was only after I moved to Hyderabad for engineering that my movie-watching culture really expanded. Making friends, bunking classes, and going to the theatres together — that’s when I truly began exploring films more actively.”



The Mithra effect

Her role, as an unemployed software engineer in Couple Friendly, served as a crucial test. “I wanted to fully embody my character without letting any trace of the beauty queen Manasa come through,” she says. Filmed guerrilla-style in Chennai, the project involved shooting on railway platforms and local tea shops with a minimal crew. “The audience didn’t just watch my character, Mithra: they welcomed her. It reminded me to live fully in the moment and simply be.” While drawn to character-driven roles, she is also excited about commercial scale. “Telugu cinema offers space to entertain on a larger canvas, and I’d love to be part of that,” she adds.

From the balcony seats of Hyderabad to her lead roles on the big screen, her relationship with cinema has come full circle. “Acting allowed me to step out of the mould, be more expressive, and embrace freedom,” she says, signing off.


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