Actress Dhanya Ramkumar opens up about what Deepavali and Kannada Rajyotsava mean to her as a proud Kannadathi!

We first spotted this pretty nammuru hudugi in 2021, when she made her debut with Ninna Sanihake and also won an award for it. This year, however, saw four back to back releases with Hide and Seek, The Judgement, Powder and more recently, Kaalapatthar. Dhanya Ramkumar is on a roll and we’re absolutely in love with her. Coming from a film family, as the granddaughter of Dr Rajkumar and daughter of Kannada actor Ramkumar — Dhanya is also the niece of Puneeth Rajkumar, Shiva Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar — all stalwarts in the Kannada film industry. Being a proud Kannadathi and someone who smoothly bridges the new world and the old, we catch up with this darling of the masses to talk about Deepavali, Kannada Rajyotsava, Sandalwood and so much more!

Putting together a shoot in less than 72 hours, we collaborated with city-based photographer Nithish Ayyod and make-up artiste Romi Thokchom who brought our looks to life. Vasthram Silk, Nitara Label by Reshma Singh and Ascher Jewels also ensured our shoot at The Oberoi, Bengaluru was as classy and high fashion as we’d hoped it would be.

Let’s begin at the very start. We know you come from a film family, but when did you decide to become an actress?

I feel like there was always that feeling on the inside. I always wanted to be an actor. Having said that, in my family, women weren’t always encouraged to act. It had never happened before, so, it was like unknown territory. I was scared to explore it and that was probably the reason why I kind of ran away from it. So, if anyone asked me if I wanted to act, I would say no, I’m not interested. You know, it’s better to say you don’t want to do it, rather than to say I can’t do it. That was one obstacle for me to overcome and I think my experiences as a PR — I worked as a PR for a while — and that gave me the confidence that I can do it on my own in this world. That’s when I decided to speak to my family about having an inclination to act and that was how it all began.

So, growing up in a family filled with film stars and we’re sure even growing up on film sets — how different was it for you when you finally face the camera?

I could have never imagined that this is what it’s actually like. I mean, I saw it from the outside. I was surrounded by this kind of atmosphere throughout my life. I did grow up on film sets, so, it’s nothing new to me, but for me to be the actor, that was new. To learn my lines and perform these shots and scenes — that is a whole other experience… a whole other ball game and there’s never enough preparation that can go into it! So, I feel like with every movie, I’m learning and with every script I’m learning even more. It’s just amazing to be here and I feel there’s a certain amount of satisfaction that I get by being on set and finally being part of this legacy.

While you might have been getting a lot of attention because you are the granddaughter of Dr Rajkumar, you have also faced undue trolling and pressure to behave in a certain way — how do you deal with it?

As an actor you have to be okay with the fact that you’re under the public eye and every move is being monitored and everyone is going to talk about what you’re doing and where you’re going and who you’re talking to — whether you like it or not. So, it’s up to us to maintain that sort of difference between our personal and public life and over the years I think, one learns to handle it better. About the hate and about the pressure — to each their own! If they don’t like me there’s nothing I can do about that. I can go about my job and someday if they like what I’m doing, maybe, they’ll appreciate it. For me, it’s just about the people that do appreciate my work. I want them to continue to support me. I want to be able to give them better performances so they can continue to root for me. That’s all I’m looking forward to.

It’s Kannada Rajyotsava today, as a proud Kannadathi, what is your message on this special occasion?

It’s something I’ve been wanting to tell everyone else that stays in Bengaluru or Karnataka and might not necessarily be a Kannadathi or a Kannadiga. You know, when you say that there’s a certain amount of imposition happening in the state or in the city — it’s not an imposition, it’s more about us wanting you to be part of our culture and learn our language. It makes us happy to hear you say those few words in our language. We’re not trying to say you need to learn our language to be in our city. That’s not what we’re saying. We’re saying — you belong to a certain city now, you belong to a certain culture now, you’ve been living here for a few years now — the least you could do is respect it and pick up basic conversational phrases. There’s no harm in saying namaskara, right?

It’s also Deepavali today, what is your message to those celebrating the festival?

Having pets has definitely changed the idea of Deepavali for me because, of course, we grew up bursting crackers too and as much as I’d like to say it’s fun, you have to understand that these animals, they don’t have a voice. So, when I see my pets in a corner trembling with fear, I feel so bad and I really want to tell people, “I don’t want to take away from your fun, but where do you draw the line?” There is a line that needs to be drawn and there is a certain amount of conscience that you need to have. So, please have that and try to limit yourselves to a day of bursting crackers.

And what are your memories of Deepavali from your childhood?

If we’re talking about my childhood, it was filled with a lot of fun — three days of just non-stop family time. We would be in my grandparents’ house and everyone, every member of the family, the extended family included and all of my cousins… we would meet up, we would wear our new clothes, different clothes for the day and different clothes for the night and we would go around lighting deepas all around the house and then, of course, there was dinner and then the crackers would come in. We would end the celebrations with thatha (Dr Rajkumar) lighting the biggest string of crackers we had. Deepavali is easily my favourite festival!

Five films down, what would you like to achieve in the year to come?

I mean, of course, there are certain goals that I have for myself but I will never limit myself. I feel like for myself I have goals such as: these many movies a year. I also want to have audiences from around the country notice me. I would also like to venture into other industries, but to begin with I’d like to create my own niche in the Kannada film industry and I’m hoping 2025 is the year.

Credits:

Photography: Nithish Ayyod
Assistants: Sai Charan & Sanketh B

Make-up & Hair: Romi Thokchom
Saris: Vasthram Silk
Blouse: Nitara Label by Reshma Singh

Jewellery: Ascher Jewels
Location: The Oberoi, Bengaluru

Email: romal@newindianexpress.com

X: @elromal