Shraddha Das: South doesn’t use Paid PR, they focus on work
Shraddha shares what excites her in a role, while highlighting the difference between working in South and Bollywood
For Shraddha Das, what drives and pulls her towards a role as an actor is the depth of the character. "A layered character excites me," she says simply, adding how it's this instinct that continues to guide her choices.
Talking about her latest OTT outing, she shares what became her reason to say yes. "The first was the director and the filmmaker whose works I have admired for the longest. The script and my character, both had great layers, a complete arc. Having said that, working alongside Konkona Sen, who leads the series, made it impossible to say no."
Shraddha, who has steadily built her career across languages and platforms, shares how she values substance over screen time, and how playing 'only' lead has never been her goal. "A series always has multiple tracks, and being the lead part of one of them was exciting. I've come up doing smaller roles, different languages, and a lot of work. Now, reaching a point where I play major parts in OTT shows feels rewarding," says Shraddha.
She adds, "I've done this without a film background or a big launch. I'm realistic about where I come from and proud of the journey that chose me." Interestingly, acting wasn't part of her original plan. "I wanted to be a singer. I was even working on a music album when someone saw my picture and signed me as an actress. That film didn't happen because the person passed away, but later I trained under NSD artists and auditioned endlessly. I must've given 500 auditions. My first big Hindi film was Lahore, which took four years to make. During that time, I signed about 13-15 regional films. My Telugu film with Gopichand made me instantly popular, and since then, I've never been out of work; whether in Hindi or regional cinema," expresses the actor, who was last seen in Naina murder case.
She further mentions how catering to the regional audience comes with a lot of perks, one being their love for the artist irrespective of how small or big their role was. Having balanced both industries, Shraddha notes how different both their (regional and Bollywood's) systems are. "The first big difference is PR. In the South, there's no paid PR. Once you sign a film, everyone knows, things move fast. I've signed films over phone calls without even meeting people! The pace is much quicker, you shoot, edit, and release within months. In Hindi cinema, it's slower, and you have to constantly stay visible. But what I love about the South is how deeply audiences connect with the stars. Even if a girl does one or two films, they'll remember her. They'll travel miles just to watch your movie. That kind of loyalty is rare," shares the 38-year-old.
She wraps up by mentioning how the common thing between audiences across different cities and languages is that they have grown awareness, but the sensitivity isn't new. "People were always sensitive; the only difference is that now they have platforms to express it. Earlier, only a few critics reviewed films. Now, everyone can post or comment. The visibility has changed, not the sentiment," she ends.
