I felt sad for IT sleuths, says Rashmika

Pretty actress Rashmika Mandanna, who is making waves in Telugu with blockbusters like 'Geeta Govindam' and 'Sarileru Neekevaru' claims that the IT raids on her home in Coorg last month were a mere procedure.

"Initially, I freaked out a bit because we have nothing to hide. May be, they thought they can find something because my father Madan Mandanna is a businessman and I am an actor, so probably IT officials had reasons to conduct raids. After hours of searches, they found nothing. In fact, I felt sad for them," she says, coolly.

However, she had to sweat a bit with anxiety while dubbing for her role in 'Bheeshma.' "Dubbing was truly a difficult job. I used to rehearse my dialogues for 10 times, before reaching the mike," says the actress and adds, "My character relies more on facial expressions and also I didn't have to raise my pitch, making my work bit easier," she informs.

She described 'Bheeshma' as super-fun film with loads of romance. "The film will leave the audience in splits and it has relevant message too," she adds.

Talking about her fitness, she reveals that she indulges in lot of sports activities. "I also realized that diet is key for fitness. I had cut down on sugar and chocolates and take lot of protein these days," she adds.

She was surprised when her co-star Nithiin disclosed about his love and impending marriage with his girl friend Shalini. "Honestly, I got to know about his love life just few days ago, although I was working with him for few months. However, I wish him lots of happiness," she smiles.

She is elated about making it big in Tollywood in just three years and attributes it to her selection of scripts. "It wasn't an easy job to attain this position. I had to reject 50-odd offers to do right kind of scripts.

I given my best to each role, so the success is due to mix of hard work and judgment," she points out. She wants to do emotion-ridden or fun films. "I want the audience to walk out carrying a certain emotion or should have had fun-filled experience while watching it," she explains.

On drawing flak for her glam-centric and over-the-top role in 'Sarileru...', she reasons, "I am used to criticism for last three years and I began to take it in my stride. My character went overboard a bit in the movie because the story demanded it and I obliged.

I am happy to be in the limelight and don't want to shy away from criticism," she says confidently. Recently, she happened to meet Nandamuri Balakrishna at an event in Basavatharakam Cancer Hospital.

"I was happy when he said that he watched my film 'Geeta Govindam," she signs off.