Ritika Singh on life after Saala Khadoos, upcoming thriller Neevevaro, and a Bollywood film on #MeToo movement

Ritika Singh was barely 19 when she faced the camera for her debut film, Saala Khadoos, in which she played a spirited aspiring boxer, alongside R Madhavan. The film was simultaneously released in Tamil as Irudhi Suttru and she went on to bag plenty of awards for her knockout performance. By the time she was signed once again, for the Telugu remake of the film, Guru, she was 22. However, a lot had changed in the meantime. “I played a different girl in all these versions of the film. My body language had to change accordingly. I’ve always looked at it as three different films, and I don’t like it when people disregard all the effort that I had put in for each of the films,” Ritika confesses.

[caption id=“attachment_5034361” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Ritika Singh. Facebook[/caption]

Admittedly, she does not like keeping a count on the number of films she has done in the past few years. “I’m always nervous and anxious about my work. I want to be part of good films and hence, I’ve careful about what I take up after my debut. After Saala Khadoos and Guru, I really wanted people to see a different side of me. What I played in the film isn’t who I’m. I was quite happy when Manikandan offered me an interesting role in Aandavan Kattalai post Irudhi Suttru. It was a small but significant character and it was written so well. I was more than happy being part of the film,” she recalls.

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More than a year after her debut in Telugu, Ritika is back again with a thriller, Neevevaro, and she is quite ecstatic about the film. One of the first things that is striking about her in the film’s promos so far, is her glamorous new avatar, which is quite a dramatic makeover compared to her previous outing in Guru. “To tell you the truth, I have never seen myself like this (laughs). I have never dressed up in real life like my character in the film. It’s not me at all! It was quite a makeover for me,” she admits, adding, “After Guru, I really needed to do a film which would change my image. Otherwise, people would always relate to how I looked and behaved in Guru (laughs). I’m grateful to Kona Venkat for offering me this role.”

Directed by Harinath, Neevevaro is inspired from a Tamil film, Adhe Kangal, and Ritika plays a magazine editor. She is all praise for her co-star Aadhi Pinisetty and says, “He’s a wonderful actor and more importantly, he would make everyone feel comfortable around him. I learnt a lot about nuances in acting from him. Each film I’ve done so far has been a new experience for me and I’m quite open to stories where I can learn something.” In the past few years, she has been approached for more sports-based dramas, thanks to her performance in Saala Khadoos. However, Ritika has her priorities clear. “One of the most difficult things to do as an actor is to say ‘no’ and that doesn’t come naturally to me. But then, you can’t say yes to everything that comes your way and that’s one of the reasons why I took a long gap before choosing my next film. I wouldn’t repeat whatever I’ve done so far. I would love to do a sports film again, but it has to be a different character and a different backdrop,” she adds.

Meanwhile, the actress is eagerly awaiting the release of her upcoming Hindi film, which is inspired from the #MeToo movement. Directed by Harshvardhan, the film is reportedly titled #MeToo, and it was predominantly shot in Haryana. “I play a normal girl who gets kidnapped, and the whole film is about how her life changes after that. It’s the most mentally challenging role I’ve done so far,” Ritika says. Despite being a fitness freak, Ritika says she was so drained out during the shoot everyday that she forgot all about her fitness routine. “After the film was done, I didn’t step out of my home for almost a month and a half, and was off social media, because the whole process drained me out. I had to do something to refresh myself, so the best thing to do was do nothing at all and sit at home all day. It’s an indie film which is quite true to its content and I’m confident that it’ll make a big impact,” Ritika signs off.