It’s happened in Hollywood, it is more or less in place in Bollywood and of late, the southern film industries too seem to be changing mindsets about ‘married’ heroines.
Kushee Ravi, who rose to fame with her role in the
Kannada
film
Dia
in 2020, can be considered to be an example of sorts. For not only is she married, she is also mommy to a two-and-a-half-year-old girl. And she is setting quite an example considering not only the number of Kannada films she has been signed on for, but the fact that she has featured in a
Tamil
music album and has more recently bagged her first
Telugu
film too. The latest signing, a yet-to-be-titled film, sees
Kushee star opposite
Sandeep Kishan
and is being directed by VI Anand.
“Of course, it’s exciting. Ever since Dia, my journey has only been on an upswing and the film has thrown so many new opportunities my way. In fact, this Telugu team too approached me after watching my performance in Dia. Naturally, there are a lot of expectations,” says Kushee. What makes this journey all the more gratifying for Kushee is that in a male-dominated industry, the attitude to heroines is slowly changing. “Indeed the attitudes are changing and all of us who are pursuing careers here today should consider ourselves lucky to be here at this time. I am also thankful that I have a family that is equally proud of the way my career is panning out. My husband is so supportive of everything that I do. He trusts my choices and decisions. He’s my strength,” she says.
The bigger challenge is handling hectic shoot schedules while being a mother too, and for that again, Kushee says. “Family support goes a long way for any working woman. My mother-in-law is excellent with my daughter and handles her so well and my mother sometimes accompanies me on shoots. Sometimes they switch places too.” And how is the little one handling her hectic schedule? “My daughter loves listening to the songs picturised on me.
Adipoli
is her favourite. She is so supportive as well, and that is a blessing. There are no tantrums of any sort, in fact when the shoot vehicle comes over to pick me up, she tells me ‘Amma, car banthu hogu (Mom, your car is here, go on),” she says.