Sanjeeda Shaikh Says Animal Changed Her View Of Rashmika Mandanna: ‘With Pushpa 2, My Respect…’ | Exclusive – News18

Last Updated:December 26, 2024, 07:41 IST

Sanjeeda Shaikh opens up on her ‘new-found love’ for Rashmika Mandanna. She lauds her for standing out even in an Allu Arjun film.

Pushpa 2: The Rule continues to wreak havoc at the box office! It has scripted created history as it has crossed the record of Prabhas starrer Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, to emerge as the highest grossing Indian film of all times. While Allu Arjun’s fans continue to gush over his box office standing and mega stardom, it wouldn’t be wrong to state that even Rashmika Mandanna hasn’t gone unnoticed. Now, in an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, Sanjeeda Shaikh too can’t stop raving about Rashmika.

She exclaims, “The last film I watched was Pushpa 2. I loved it! I never thought that I’m competing with my contemporaries but I’ve this new-found love for Rashmika.” But her ‘admiration’ for Rashmika began with Animal, which hit the screens last year. Sanjeeda says, “Earlier, I used to see her on social media a lot but after watching a couple of her performances, especially in Animal, my perspective changed.”

Pointing out the sequence Rashmika’s confrontation scene with Ranbir Kapoor in the film, the Heeramandi and Kyaa Hoga Nimmo Kaa actor remarks, “I thought she was really good and graceful in Animal. That one scene she had with Ranbir in the film changed my idea of her and she came in the category of a very good performer. And then I watched her in Pushpa 2 and my respect for her increased even more.”

Lauding Rashmika for managing to capture the audience’s attention in an Allu Arjun film, Sanjeeda adds, “I like watching good performances. Pushpa 2 is an Allu Arjun film but for Rashmika to stand out and make her mark was laudable. Her performed her scenes so effortlessly! That one scene where she answers back to everyone that yeh mera husband hai was so beautifully done. She really left an impact on me.”

As for Sanjeeda, she too is infused with the spirit to take her career a notch higher in 2025. And she has no qualms about having a ‘smaller parts’ anymore. “I’m okay with it. One matures with age. When you spend enough time in the industry, you understand how it works. I know what I can do and what I can’t, as an actor. When I was doing TV, I only wanted to play lead characters. Once I saw progression in myself, I became confident. When you know that you’ve the ability to stand out and be noticed no matter what you do, your whole perspective changes,” she says.

Talking about how it was Siddharth Anand’s Fighter that helped her in that direction, Sanjeeda shares, “I became a little more confident with Fighter. I came onboard the film at the eleventh hour and I was shooing for Heeramandi already. It had our country’s biggest superstars – Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone – in it. I didn’t know what I was getting into. I just went with the flow and told myself, ‘Let’s see where it takes me.’ It taught me to be in the moment, breathe and enjoy the process without thinking about what’s going to happen tomorrow.”