Cinema is finally embracing dusky heroines: Chaithra J Achar

The excitement in her voice is palpable as Chaithra J Achar shares that she’s currently in Chennai and is shooting for her first-ever Tamil film. “You can imagine how happy I felt when the team members shared that they wanted me after watching me act in Toby and Sapta Sagaradaache Ello; those two films have brought me so much recognition from various industries and now, offers have also come in from Malayalam and Hindi, after my films went live on OTT,” says Chaithra.
“It’s particularly exciting because if I can be the leading lady of a film — with my mole, a dusky complexion and all — it means notions of a mainstream heroine is finally evolving,” she says. Excerpts:
‘Acting is about truth, it’s about revealing the beauty of real people around us’
There was a time when I would watch Aishwarya Rai or a Tamannaah and think how can people like me even stand a chance to be up there. I don’t have a teeny waist, curvaceous body or those glamorous faces. But look at how things have turned around. Of course, actors like Shabana Azmi paved the way, and it continued with performers like Radhika Apte, Nimisha Sajayan and Parvathy Thiruvothu breaking the beauty barriers. Acting is all about having a believable face and not sticking to an image. If a sex worker felt that I have draped my sari in Sapta Sagaradaache Ello exactly like she does, then that’s a win.
‘For every Aishwarya Rai out there, there are 95 women who look like me’
I get asked a lot why I play so many roles in saris. The truth is, it’s fantastic! Because for every Aishwarya Rai out there, there are 95 women who look like me – real women, everyday women. They can see themselves in the characters I portray. I might wear a sari in most films, but each of those characters will act, emote, express, dress up, speak or even make love in a different way. It’s okay to be stereotyped, because the roles I’m playing are all real. Besides, today even the most glamorous actors are tanning themselves to look realistic and relatable. I think that’s our winning moment.
‘I prioritise projects that are well-prepared and have strong teams’
Some might assume I’m neglecting Kannada cinema by taking up a Tamil film — I’m not. The successes of films like Toby and Sapta Sagaradaache Ello have opened doors across industries. In Kannada, I prioritise well-prepared projects with strong teams. Most teams are of the notion that having good names in a project and being backed by a solid investor is enough to get a project going. When such people come to me and narrate just one line, I realise that they are not in this for the long haul. I don’t take up such films because I know it will never see the light of day. In Tamil though, the teams that have come to me have been extremely well prepared and that’s how I am doing two films there.
‘I take acting very seriously; you cannot entice me with big bucks’
I’ve been fortunate to have been part of good films that have also been mounted on a big scale, including the upcoming Uttarakaanda. But that does not mean I will do everything that comes my way. Just staying relevant isn’t enough to make me take up a random project. I take acting seriously and you can’t entice me with big bucks. Unless of course, I’m bankrupt and have no other choice!
‘Kannada films need to up the quality of their content and market it well’
There is so much talk of the industry going through a lull, so it’s hard to ignore it. While we love our language, I think we Kannadigas are also open to watching a lot of non-regional films, but that’s not the case with other industries. Unless there is a lot of talk surrounding a Kannada film, they will not step out to watch our films. Back home, whenever we have given good movies, people have shown their love. If it hasn’t happened in recent times, it only shows that we have to up our content quality and also ensure we market it well.
‘If I am offered a full-on masala film like Pushpa, I will gladly do it’
I might have been part of a certain genre of films, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy watching commercial films with drama and all the high-octane dance numbers. In fact, I love dancing. If I get a film like Pushpa, where the leading lady’s role has meat and also dance, I’ll blindly accept it. But don’t ask me to stand in the background and give irrelevant reactions while the hero is speaking in the foreground!