Andhra Pradesh - Karimnagar   

Tribal girl making waves at film festivals

K.M. Dayashankar

Mamatha Bhukya wins accolades for her role in `Vanaja'

IN THE LIMELIGHT: Mamatha Bhukya

KARIMNAGAR: Born in a remote naxalite-affected Garjanapalli village in Yellareddypet mandal, this seventeen-year-old tribal girl bagged national and international film festival awards in yet to be released feature film, `Vanaja'.

Meet Mamatha Bhukya, who played the title role in Rajneesh Domalapalli directed film, `Vanaja'. She won several awards at the film festivals in Berlin, New York, Cairo, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, New Zealand, Goa and at the International film festival in Hyderabad recently. The story of `Vanaja' is about a poor girl from the fishing community, who joins a Zamindar family as a worker to learn Kuchipudi. The Zamindar's wife, who is expert in dance and music, teaches the dance form to the girl. Her son, who comes from the city, rapes her. Subsequently, the girl becomes pregnant and refuses to abort pregnancy and goes home to deliver a baby boy. The story revolves around how she takes revenge against the accused and brings up her son.

Mamatha's father, Lumna Naik, is a forest officer posted in Hyderabad while her mother, Vijaya, is a housewife. She did her schooling in Warangal, Karimnagar and Hyderabad. At present, she is pursuing Intermediate from Swarnadhra junior college in Hyderabad. When she was studying eighth class in 2004, Mr. Domalapalli visited the ZP high school where she was studying for selecting actors. Out of a total of 265 participants, she and her friend, Bhavani, were selected for the film.

She adorns film actress Vijayshanti and actor Shah Rukh Khan. Her inspiration is her director Rajneesh, who is again planning a film with her. She says that she will continue her passion for acting and become one of the best actresses in the industry.

The film would be released in the United States in July while it is slated for release in the State in October.

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