Sudha Narasimharaju Aka Parimala Of Gattimela: My Father Advised Me To Be A Doctor

Popularly known as Parimala from the hit show Gattimela on Zee Kannada, Sudha Narasimharaju is one of The evergreen actresses from yesteryears and also the daughter of the comedy-legend Narasimharaju. Apart from working in over 20 films in her career, Sudha decided to make a shift of entertainment medium and switched to TV recently by bagging the role of Parimala Manjunath on Gattimela, the No. 1 show in the state at the moment. She plays the mother of four daughters, Aarthi (played by Ashwini), Amulya (played by Nisha Ravikrishnan), Adithi (played by Priya) and Anjali (played by Mahanti). While fans love Sudha Ma’am in films and on Gattimela, many of you still might not know much about her personal life.

Let’s rectify that because we got the opportunity to talk to her in an exclusive interview and learn about many personal things about her life. Today, however, we will just look at her journey from having different aspirations to finally landing up in the field of acting as a profession. The answer will blow your mind away. Keep scrolling…

Q. Was it your father, the comedy-legend Narasimharaju, who inspired you to get into the industry? Tell us about your journey to the entertainment field. 
A. Definitely, he was my major inspiration. Let me retrace, initially, I was not that inclined to the industry, because my aspirations were different. I had thought that I will pursue law or medicine because my father wanted me to be a doctor, but somehow I don’t know why but I liked speaking and RJing (chuckles) profession more. Although I wanted to be a lawyer, it (acting) was actually an emotional decision. I would like to tell you how…

Q. Yes, please continue…

After my father passed away, there was no one else in my family who would have taken the acting profession ahead. This was because my father had never involved or encouraged us much to get into the field. See, because just like how we are now enjoying our profession, at that time they enjoyed their profession thanks to their hard work because they did not have as many facilities as we have today. They have to face way more difficulties than us at the time. So I am sure, if he was alive, he would not have expected the media and other film communities to recognise him to this level. For him (at the time) it was like why should my children suffer and do so much hard work (working day and night). With that intention, he always persuaded us to concentrate more on our studies and recognise our respective fields of profession. From that perspective, he had advised me to be a doctor.

Q. A doctor? That’s quite interesting. Then how did ‘acting’ happen?

Yes, it is. But when I joined Mounts (Mount Carmel College, Bangalore), I was in a total confused state whether I should take Science or Arts or Commerce. Finally, I ended up studying Commerce. We were all brought up in Jayamahal and I studied in a small convent there, with little exposure. So when I joined Mounts for my 1st PUC (Pre-university college), it was like a wide opening with loads of people and a lot of friends. So when we got to the round of introductions there and I was introduced as Narasimharaju’s daughter, everyone would come to me and gasp in delight. I also got asked a lot if no one else from my family will continue his legacy of acting. That’s when somewhere inside me that question struck a chord. Then I slowly started asking myself ‘Why not?‘. Since I had no exposure in front of the camera, I was scared. The good thing, however, was that since school I would love enacting comedy roles and I would always get the first prize. So it was just a co-incidence. That’s when my friends and everyone in my close circle encouraged me about my talent to act and asked me to give it a try. After considering everything I decided to give it a shot and got into the industry. So this is how he inspired me to become an artist and keep his legacy alive.

Are you in love with Sudha Ma’am or what? Stay tuned for more exclusive and interesting things about this great actress, coming soon.

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