I don't turn every role in my favour: Bhavana

Bhavana’s versatility has certainly made her popular amongst the Kannada audience today. Appreciation has come her way after her recent film, 'Bhageerathi' in which she plays a traditional village girl. Giving us a detailed account of her journey, Bhavana says, “When I entered this profession, I did not stick to one particular role. For few directors, I looked too western and for some, I could play a middle class Brahmin girl. I went according to what the role demanded, be it an unusual cop, a lawyer or the kind of role I played in 'Bhageerathi',” she says.

Her choice of working with well known director Baraguru Ramchandrappa in 'Bhageerathi' has helped her to do out-of-the-box roles.

“I am extremely happy to be associated with Baraguru whose wave length matches with my acting. We intellectually connect well and that has helped us to work better together. I share a comfort level with him and I am always in his mind whenever he has a film coming up. Even when he wanted me in 'Bhageerathi', he just called me and said 'Please come over, I have a story for you' and I blindly accepted it," she says.

Interestingly, this Sandalwood actress missed out on a lot of opportunities because of her complexion. "The filmy circle thinks that I am extremely fair and I look like a foreigner in front of the camera. I used to request God to just make me dark as it will help me get good roles," says Bhavana. She further added, "This was haunted me for a long time as I could not really paint my face brown. Even in 'Bhageerathi', they painted my skin to match the skin colour of a village girl."

A few years ago, Bhavana tried her luck in Bollywood, which didn't work out for her. "I only ended up going round and round in Lokhandwala but no lucrative offers came my way. I realised I was somewhere losing myself as I was not getting the kind of roles I wanted but was offered item songs, which I was not ready to do. So I came back to Bangalore, the place where I belong," she added.

She is everything that we look in a heroine and yet, fact is that we don't see enough of her in Kannada films. “I have seen a few girls who enter industry only to become famous. For me, I limit myself as an actor. Of course, I don't support nor work in films which have a lot of blood shed. Also I don't go berserk, trying to turn every character in my favour. I was offered a college going girl role for one of the Tamil films. I had to reject the role because my body language doesn't justify the character and mentally I was not prepared to do these kind of roles," she says.

When asked about the guest appearances in two of Ravichandran’s films — 'Crazy Star' and 'Manjina Hani', she said, "More than guest appearances, it is the relationship and gratitude I share with Ravichandran. He has a passion for movies and not for money. I don't feel the need to justify my decisions."