Touted as the national crush after Animal, Triptii Dimri’s Instagram following has jumped from 600k followers to 2.7 million within a few days. With her latest release, the actor is experiencing a flurry of emotions and says, “I have had sleepless nights due to the excitement.”

The 29-year-old might’ve had a small role in the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer, but she has created a mark for herself with films like Bulbbul (2020) and Qala (2022). While she is grateful for the adulation, she hopes that her new-found fame will prompt people to watch her earlier projects, too. “I think there will be a shift in my career now. I’ve always wanted films like Qala to reach out to more people. Now many people are messaging me and saying, ‘We watched your films’. It’s such a special feeling,” shares Dimri.

Ask about how she is dealing with her popularity on social media, and Dimri says, “More than me, my family is excited. Every time it (the number of followers) goes up, they send it to me (laughs),” she says.

The Laila Majnu (2018) actor recalls, “During an ad shoot, an assistant told me that (director) Sandeep Reddy Vanga sir wanted to cast me in this film. It was an instant yes when I heard the film’s backstory, but nothing happened for a year. He called me and said, ‘Tripti, I am not going to send you this character by saying it’s the lead; it is a negative character, but I don’t want you to play it like that’.”

The actor is likely to have a bigger role in the second instalment, tentatively titled, Animal Park.