newsletter issue 174

Two days before this interview, Rashmika Mandanna was at a promotional event for her recently released film, Kuberaa, in Mumbai. Co-star Nagarjuna, the veteran Telugu actor, brought in a sense of perspective on the relative star power of those on stage, which also included actor Dhanush, a veteran of Tamil cinema, alongside Jim Sarbh and Dalip Tahil. “You’ve seen her [Rashmika’s] filmography over the last three years. It’s outstanding. None of us gave 2,000-3,000-crore films like her. She’s the one who’s beaten all of us.”

Mandanna has had hits—year-defining blockbusters that bring people to the theatres in the era of couch-denting—across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi cinema. We’re referring to Pushpa: The Rise, which became the highest grossing film of 2021, when we were still in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was followed by Animal (2023), and Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024). Before that, there was her debut with Kirik Party (2016) and Anjani Putra (2017) in Kannada, and the Tollywood hits Geetha Govindam (2018), Dear Comrade (2019) and Sarileru Neekevvaru (2022). Even in male-centric films characterised by macho chest-thumping—a prominent feature in ‘pan-India films’—Mandanna’s characters have been the moral centre. Cast in point: Pushpa’s Srivalli.

How did a girl from Kodagu become India’s “national crush”? Head to The Nod to find out.