She may be just 19, but southern actress Vithika Sheru believes that for a long career in films, it is vital to have a perfect combination of beauty and talent. She says it's important to strike a balance between being glamorous and playing performance-oriented roles.
"Beauty and talent in appropriate proportion will help an actor to have a long career. Especially, if an actor is doing films in multiple languages, then it comes in handy. While in one language you might be expected to be glamorous, in the other, you could play deglamorised roles," Vithika told IANS.
"I consider it important because it helps you to be open to different roles," she added.
Vithika made her cinematic debut at 15 with Kannada film "Anthu Inthu Preethi Banthu", followed by another Kannada film "Ullasa Uthsaha".
She says she never feared being exploited at a young age.
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"I never had the fear of being exploited because I as a child actor I had done TV serials and lots of advertisements at the age of 11. Moreover, my aunt was a designer in Mumbai and was associated with the industry and, so, I was never scared of the industry," she said.
"Also, my mother used to accompany me for all my projects. She still continues to do so and I really don't feel scared or tense around her," she added.
Vithika believes acting as a child helped her to decide that she wanted to pursue acting as a full-time career.
"Acting as a kid certainly helped me to take up a career in acting seriously. Unlike others, I never enrolled for any acting workshop when I finally got to play a lead role. My experience as a child actor helped me to play my roles effortlessly," she said.
She is currently busy shooting for upcoming Telugu romance "Prema Ishq Kaadhal".
"Initially, I was scared to be part of this project, which also features two more heroines. I feared that my role would be sidelined. But, I knew that to survive in this competitive industry, I need to prove with my performance," Vithika said.
The film, directed by Pawan Sadhineni, also features Harshvardhan Rane, Vishnu, Harish, Rithu Varma and Srimukhi.
She also has two Tamil films in the offing.