Actress Karthika Nair, who is a known name in the southern film industry, says she did not try her luck in Bollywood as she did not want to be treated like a debutante.
The 24-year-old actress, who is making her television debut with Star Plus' upcoming fantasy drama "Aarambh", comes from a family of actors. "I didn't want to start from scratch again. This is why I didn't try films in Bollywood. I get a lot of respect down south and I thought I will feel alienated there (Bollywood)," Karthika told PTI in an interview here.
The actress, who made her debut with the 2009 Telugu film, Josh opposite actor Naga Chaitanya, says, "My mother Radha is a renowned actress. Survival is not my reason to be here. I am here for my passion and creativity."
In Aarambh, Karthika will be seen in the role of Dravidian princess Devsena. The series is penned by the writer of the "Baahubali" series, K V Vijayendra Prasad. Karthika says although having Prasad on the big-budget project is an added advantage, it was director-producer Goldie Behl who convinced her to do the TV show.
"Yes, Prasad sir was my south connect. He knows me and my mother. So, I grew more confident that at least someone knows us here. I knew about Goldie sir's work. He is famous for shooting projects on a grand level. You cannot go wrong when you combine grandeur with a good script."
The actress says she was averse to doing a show on television due to its demanding schedule but agreed after she came to know that it would be a finite series.
Karthika says her character should not be confused with Devsena from Baahubali as they only share the name of the character and the writer.
Talking about her version of Devsena, she says, "As an actress, getting to play such a powerful character in a male- dominated society is a rare opportunity. The grand scale of things didn't make me feel I was shooting for a TV show. "I didn't have to stick to a certain history that she was like this or that. I had the freedom to create Devsena in my own way." Prasad initially imagined the story as a movie but then he and the producer decided it was more suited for the television format.
"Prasad sir had written the story thinking that directors like S S Rajamouli will make a movie out of it. But the script was so vast, it was difficult for any director to compress it into one movie. "'Baahubali' was made in two parts, but it would have needed five installments to tell this story. Goldie sir had also come onboard for the film with Prasad sir. But once he heard the script he said let's not compromise."
Aarambh also features Rajniesh Duggall, Tej Sapru, Tanuja, Vipul Gupta and Tarun Khanna. The one-hour-long show will start airing from June 24 every Saturday-Sunday at 9 PM.