‘I often give myself a pat on the shoulder, reminding myself that I’ve done a good job considering where I started and the mindset I grew up with.’

Rashmika Mandanna has had a good year, thanks to blockbusters like Chhaava and deeply personal stories like The Girlfriend.

She looks back to 2025, and says “I want to explore different personalities and versions of myself, rather than being boxed into one image. I don’t want to be seen as just the good girl, the innocent girl, the happy-go-lucky girl, or the mean girl.”

Do you feel a sense of contentment about the year and your career in 2025?

The whole reason we work as hard as we do is to one day, feel this way.

I’m very proud of the year I’ve had, even though it doesn’t mean every year will be like this.

Maybe things will get better, maybe they’ll stay the same. But for all the work I have put in, it means a lot to see my friends, family, and extended family feel happy for me.

That happiness reflects back on me.

I feel extremely proud, deeply content, joyful, and loved for everything I received in 2025.

While Chhaava was your first blockbuster of 2025, the one that really spoke to me, and probably to you, was The Girlfriend. What was your reaction when you were offered the part?

My first reaction when I heard the script of The Girlfriend was that this was one of the most important stories to be told right now.I understood the emotions it carried. It felt essential to share it.

I had lived parts of that story even before I became Bhuma, so it was deeply personal for me.

Doing this film was my way of giving a warm, tight hug to my younger self.

It made me happy long before its release because, at its core, this was purely for me.

• The Girlfriend: Rashmika Rocks!

The Girlfriend has become a movement on toxicity in relationships.

Today, seeing people watch the film and connect with it makes me even happier.

I’m grateful that when you give so much of yourself to cinema, it isn’t brushed aside — it’s accepted, loved, and protected.

That’s when you truly feel happy.

The Girlfriend puts a responsibility on your shoulders. As a representational character whom women would look towards for relationship goals, how do you see that responsibility?

I don’t see it as a responsibility. I’m a woman, and have always shown up for the women in my life.

Today, I’m simply showing up for the women in my extended family.

There’s no real difference for me — I’m just being myself and staying true.

At the same time, I’m deeply grateful that people felt comfortable creating this.

I kept telling my director Rahul Ravindran how thankful I am that a man could understand a woman so intimately and sensitively, and feel confident enough to write a character like this.

I’m also grateful to the producers who were willing to invest in telling a story from a woman’s perspective.

Do you find a paucity of such stories in our cinema?

I’m happy to see more stories like this being written, and more directors and producers coming together to make them happen.

There should be many more films told through a female lens, and that’s finally happening.

It’s not just about me, there will be many more artists who will come forward with incredibly special stories and performances.

In that sense, if there is a responsibility to continue telling honest stories from a woman’s perspective. I promise I’ll keep working hard to do justice to that.

As an emotionally and intellectually evolved actress, do you find it hard to rationalise what your characters demand of you? For example, what sense did Thamma make to you? I’m an actor, an entertainer.

I want to entertain people.

I want to explore different personalities and versions of myself, rather than being boxed into one image.

I don’t want to be seen as just the good girl, the innocent girl, the happy-go-lucky girl, or the mean girl.

An actor is very different from who I am as a person, and I want that distinction to be clear.

As an actor, I want people to feel proud that I’m willing to take on anything.

That/s how I want to be perceived — someone who keeps pushing herself to grow and get better.

That’s why I surrender completely to my directors and writers. If they write something that makes sense and convinces me, I give myself to it fully.

How do you look at your journey as an actor so far?

I’m a very different person today than I once was.

I’ve grown up in a certain way, carried certain habits and beliefs, and learned so much along the way, both on the job through my performances and in life, through my experiences.

Everything I’ve picked up has shaped me into the woman I wanted to become.

Since childhood, I’ve dealt with anxiety, insecurity, and many internal struggles.

Slowly and steadily, working through them has made me incredibly proud of who I am today.

I often give myself a pat on the shoulder, reminding myself that I’ve done a good job considering where I started and the mindset I grew up with.

Even if these changes feel small or invisible to others, I see them.

I know them. That’s enough to make me happy.

How do you divide your time between Hindi and Telugu cinema?

I work from a place of deep gratitude and never take any industry for granted, whether it’s Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, or Hindi.

When I commit to a film, I give it my 100 percent.

I’m completely present when I’m on set, and when I’m not, I step away fully.

I’m grateful to work with incredible teams from the directors and producers to every department because their energy is what I thrive on.

Since most of your films are hits, do you like being labelled a lucky mascot?

One person’s luck doesn’t decide the fate of a film.

Film is a collective effort, with anywhere from 50 to 200 people working together.

What you can control are the choices you make for yourself, and even then, sometimes the film doesn’t work.

From shooting to release, so many people and factors are involved that ultimately shape a film’s destiny.

Very little is truly in our hands, but I do feel deeply blessed and grateful.

I’m thankful for the choices I’ve been able to make and for the opportunity to work with some of the most brilliant minds in the industry.

Is marriage on the cards in 2026?

That’s not something I would like to comment on right now.