Raashii Khanna, who started her career with the film Madras Cafe (2013) and went on to do films in the South, is elated. The actress has been signed for Karan Johar’s upcoming project, Yodha, and will soon start shooting for it. Raashii says, “I’m excited to be a part of Yodha, which is a Dharma Productions film. I can’t disclose details about my role at this point, but I’m looking forward to shooting for it in January.”

Raashii, who received appreciation for her role in the Malayalam film Bhramam opposite Prithviraj Sukumaran earlier this year, has a busy year ahead. Apart from Yodha, she has two web shows and a Tamil film with Dhanush titled D44, which will release next year. Talking about juggling work in Hindi and South cinema, she says, “Bollywood and regional cinema share the same passion for the craft and create interesting content. They also have some great technicians and actors. However, since cinema is often a reflection of society, there are some basic cultural differences you find apart from the language. As an actor, the approach to a character also differs to make it more relatable to a particular region.”

Raashii is happy to have worked with stars like Ajay Devgn (in the web series Rudra - The Edge Of Darkness) and Shahid Kapoor (Raj & DK’s untitled web series) this year, and is now looking forward to working with Sidharth Malhotra in Yodha. She’s acted with South stars like Mohanlal, Naga Chaitanya, Varun Tej, Vijay Sethupathi, Vijay Devarakonda and Prithviraj.

She says, “When you work with established actors, you learn a lot from their experience. There is always so much to learn in the way they prepare for a role or the way they approach a scene. I have been blessed to have had such opportunities.”

Raashii shares, “The one thing you realise when you work in the South is the way they worship their actors. There’s always so much responsibility on their shoulders because they are larger-than-life for their fans. I still have so much to achieve in my career.”

Talking about how different it is to work in a web series as opposed to films, she says, “The experience of working in a web series is very different from working in a film because the characters in the former are very well-defined and take you into a different world. It’s gratifying as an actor, especially when you work with dynamic directors like Raj and DK (Raj Nidimoru, Krishna DK). I have definitely grown as an actor. They respect women and are careful about not stereotyping or demeaning women in any way.”

Raashii also feels that OTT platforms are making way for good content. She says, “I feel the emergence of OTT platforms is revolutionary because they have opened doors for so many technicians and artistes. It has also opened a new world for the audience in terms of content. Having said that, the experience of watching a film in the theatre remains unmatched for various reasons. I feel that OTT and films will happily co-exist in the future and along with watching content on web platforms, people will continue to go to a theatre to watch a film. The last two years of the pandemic have been challenging because as actors we took major risk shooting without masks. I am happy that the production houses took great safety precautions, which is why I could finish shooting for my films and web shows.”

The actress is hopeful that 2022 will bring her even more exciting opportunities. She says, “Whenever I approach a role, I feel it should have a certain importance in the script and have the capacity to help you leave an impact on viewers even if there’s less screen time. It is essential to make an impact as an artiste rather than just fill space on the screen. But that stage also comes with time and right now, I am in that phase of my career, when I can choose my roles. I genuinely believe that apart from destiny, hard work and perseverance can take you places.”