Chaithra Achar: The teams of my Tamil films were willing to work around my availability and that’s the kind of respect an artiste dreams of

Chaithra J Achar has begun her Tamil film innings with not one, but two movies that she is currently shooting for. Chaithra is a part of Sasikumar’s untitled next directed by Raju Murugan, the working title of which is Mother India, for which she shot close to two weeks in Madurai. She is now in Chennai, on the set of Siddharth’s film, which is being called #Siddharth40.

“Both the scripts are very nice and I am super excited to work with Sasikumar sir and Siddharth. Though I signed Siddharth’s film way before Sasikumar sir’s project, I began shooting for the later first. I did 12 days in Madurai, then came to Chennai and once I finish this schedule I will go back to Madurai. I have a very busy month or month-and-a-half before I return home to Bengaluru,” says Chaithra excitedly.

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The Siddarth film, she tells us, was finalised way back in February, but she could not tell anyone until a formal announcement from the team, which happened only days ago. “In fact, I did not even tell my parents until I left to Chennai. But since this was going to be a long schedule away from home, I had to break the news to them that I was going to be shooting for two films,” adds Chaithra.

'My work in Kannada films was noticed'

Did both films happen after her work in Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side B was noticed? “Interestingly, Raju Murugan sir had only seen me in Toby and was impressed with my performance as Jenny. And when I was approached for the film, the dates they wanted were more or less around the same time as Siddarth’s film. I was ready to let go of the project, but they were quite adamant to have me onboard and were willing to adjust with any dates that I could allot. I then decided to somehow make both projects work because they were willing to plan their schedules around my availability,” says Chaithra, adding, “This kind of respect for one’s work is exactly what an artiste dreams of.”

There is not much that the actress is allowed to divulge about either of the films. “They are both emotion-driven cute stories; Sidd40 is a family drama set in Chennai, while Sasikumar sir’s film is a story set against rural backdrop. My choice of films has always revolved around the importance my character has in the larger scheme of things. So, let’s just say these two films fall in that category, wherein I have more to do than just say I was a part of it. The stories may not revolve around me, but the characters are meaty,” says Chaithra.

Meanwhile, back home in Kannada cinema, Chaithra’s still got some portions left for her character Lacchi in Uttarakaanda. “I had shot for some 4 days in the last schedule and need to join them again. They were concentrating on getting Shivarajkumar sir’s portions. In the next schedule is when Aishwarya Rajesh and I have more to do,” she says.

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Now that she has widened her horizons and has some interesting work under her belt, is this the trajectory she was hoping for her career? “I didn’t really have a fixed plan and took it one step at a time. I made sure that whatever I did was with a lot of preparation and conviction, which, I think, has been working well for me. My films are getting better; my remuneration is getting better and so is my popularity. People on the roads of Chennai are recognising me, which I didn’t think would happen in only 2-3 years of my career. Films have reached places and so have I and I am truly overwhelmed,” she signs off.