Ritika Singh made her debut with Irudhi Suttru, in which she played a boxer, reflecting her real-life self of being an athlete. In Oh My Kadavule, her Anu aka noodles mandai, was a tomboy, and coming to her upcoming big release Vettaiyan in which her Roopa is an uptight police officer. While it is easy to stereotype Rithika in the roles she is playing, it looks like the actor has budged away from falling into the trap. “Absolutely,” says Rithika in conversation with OTTplay.

But has it been a planned move? “No, most people like you said would stereotype me like say a boxer or strong roles. But I am a versatile person. Say for dance, I can do many different forms/styles of dance without having formal training. It is because I pick up things very fast. I am genuinely more curious as person and multi-faceted,” Rithika says.

The actor believes that this personality of hers comes from the sports background she has got. Being trained in MMA, Rithika says that one has to put up with many changes and challenges, which makes one tough to brave any condition. “I am not planning anything on purpose when it comes to my films. For example, if another cop role comes, I would not mind doing it, but I look for a different facet that I can add.”

Ritika Singh interview for Vettaiyan

For any artist, it is no-brainer to accept a film like Vettaiyan which has stalwarts from different industries together. Rithika reveals that director TJ Gnanavel always had her on his mind. “He said that he wanted my energy, spunk and spark in the film. Even a day before the shooting, I had a breakdown, about how much excited I am. So, I always have to calm down and given my character is diametrically opposite, it was surely a task,” says Rithika who is more animated and hyperactive in real life. Rithika says to control her personality to have a subdued aura, was the real challenge in Vettaiyan.

Having names like Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Manju Warrier, Rana Daggubati, Anirudh Ravichander, Gnanvel, and a prestigious banner like Lyca Productions bankrolling Vettaiyan, Rithika says it is a pressure. “I am thankful for the producers, and director for the opportunity. But my aim was to just stay calm among all the intimidation. Of course, not in a bad way, but when you realise the scale of grandness the project is. I just sank during the audio launch, it finally dawned upon me. After doing a film like Irudhi Suttru, I did get some recognition but I was too young to process it. Now, life has given me second innings and can process thing a bit faster.”

Rithika says that humility is the major takeaway she got from Vettaiyan. The actor adds that the cast and crew were down to earth despite their achievements. Giving an example of Rajinikanth, she recalls, “We were doing a scene where he was the primary character. As the take is on, Rajinikanth sir felt that my character should react or say something, which I was thinking as well. But on the script, it didn’t have it. So Rajini sir gave me a line and solid reaction for that scene. I learnt that how when you are in position of power and share with others, you can never steam it. Rajini sir is an example of it.”

Ritika Singh on learning Tamil, working with Fahadh Faasil and improvisations

“I am all for quirky cinema,” says Rithika while talking how she is always on a lookout for chances that are out of box. She also adds that her flair for languages has helped a lot for her to set a base in Chennai, even if her native language is not Tamil. “I am able to converse in Tamil, and I think I would have learned more Tamil had I live here consistently. But when you keep travelling, you lose the touch with language,” Rithika says.

While improvising on sets is a natural character for any artist, Rithika gives an example from Vettaiyan in which she had a scene with Fahadh Faasil, “We had a scene together and it was planned a certain way. During one of the takes, I assumed that whatever is on paper will be performed, but he said something else, and that caught me on spot. It was on me, and I did reply back. Since I am a very reactive person, I was able to do it.” She also speaks about one such improvisation that was performed by Dulquer Salmaan in the song with her in King of Kotha, where the former bid a kind good bye to her character which was initially planned as a rough push. “The reaction I gave concurred with what Dulquer acted on, so some directors do give you that space for improvisations. For example, in Oh My Kadavule, Ashwath Marimuthu allowed us to have a flow. Things just happened and its when you experience true magic of acting,” she adds.

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