Exclusive: "At this point in my career, I seek stronger and diverse roles more than anything else," says Radhika Narayan

'RangiTaranga' girl Radhika Narayan, post the impressive debut, has been striving hard to break the shackles of stereotyping. In an industry that is quite fond of categorizing or boxing actors, the journey so far has been tricky for Radhika who, despite her strong will, has found herself attracting scripts and offers similar to her previous successes. However, the actor in her remains hungry and determined to scout for exciting offers and it would seem that her patience has come through with some really good results. Radhika Narayan has a bunch of exciting films lined up ahead and each features her in a rather never-before-seen avatar, much to her delight.

"The idea since the past couple of years has been to play characters and bold- ones that are starkly different to what I am known for. Of course, it goes without saying that I am extremely thankful for all the amazing opportunities but you would constantly want to dabble in newer roles as an actor. And I am glad that such opportunities are coming along - the film 'Chase', for instance, will have me play a police officer trainee who's well-versed with the martial art Krav Maga. Audiences would mostly remember me as either the girl-next-door in RangiTaranga ('Vikrant Rona' director Anup Bhandari's debut) the glamorous Meera in Mundina Nildana but my role in Chase is surely going to surprise them pleasantly," shares Radhika Narayan.

Chase, a suspense thriller, is now on its way for a theatrical release and along with Radhika Narayan, the film's cast also includes Avinash Divakar, Sheetal Shetty, Pramod Shetty, Sushant Pujari, and Rajesh Natarang among many others. The film recently cleared the censorship stage with a U/A certificate and is expected to release in cinema halls in June. You can watch the trailer here:

On the other hand, Radhika is currently shooting for the much-awaited sequel 'Shivaji Surathkal 2 - The Mysterious Case of Mayavi'. She reprises the role of Janani in the film and although the character dies in the first installment, the makers have chosen to extend it by giving it a new edge; Radhika, however, chooses to stay mum and not divulge any detail about her character arc in the sequel.

"You just can't help but be amazed by Ramesh Aravind sir's energy and positivity. Every conversation you have with him, you end up learning something so I am glad that I am back on the sets. Having worked with the team already, there is a certain level of comfort and ease - since I know the character really well, it was easier to slip into it again. There are extra layers and depths to my character now and I can't wait for the audience to experience it," she adds.

Radhika Narayan also plays a police commissioner in Rajendra Singh Babu's 'Veera Kambala' that stars Adithya. She will be seen in cameo albeit crucial role in the film that's based on a true incident.