Interview Times 
Damini is an engineer by profession and an artist by passion. . She graduated from VSSUT, Burla, with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a B.tech in the same field. Lockdown provided her with the opportunity to discover her hidden skill. She began showing her ability on various social media platforms and became well-known. “mote bodhe hela Prema” was her first break in the Odia industry, and it was a huge hit. Her video reached almost a million views in less than a month, and she hasn’t looked back since. After doing “se jhiya ta” with Sailendra and “sweetness misa nakhara” with Abhishek Panda, she gained a lot of attention. Raja D directed her debut video, while Smruti R directed her second.
- What made you decide to be into Ollywood?
I am a software engineer and I was working from Delhi when the corona hit and lockdown were declared, so I tried to stay in Delhi as much as possible until I had to return to Odisha, which I believe will be in August 2020, and my younger sister insisted that I start doing videos because I have been dancing all my life and am a trained Odissi dancer who has been trained for almost 13 years and is the governor trophy holder in Odisha in Odissi dance. I began with creating videos for IGTV and YouTube, and then I began building a reel with my sister, which was a huge success. We recognized a lot of things from there. We were chosen for a photoshoot for Lohiya Pradesh, a prominent apparel company in South Odisha, and during that shoot, I was shooting with Abhishek Panda himself, and through him, I got an opportunity to perform an audition for a music video, so I sent them several look tests, reels, and lipsync videos. After that, everyone began to recognize me, and it became a huge success, as well as one of my favorite projects. I eventually sent it to them, and Raja D chose me, and that’s how I got into the ollywood industry. My first video was a smash, and then my third video was also a hit, and I continued getting excellent opportunities. “Sweet Miss Nakhara” changed everything for me. After that, everyone began to recognize me, and it became a huge success, as well as one of my favorite projects.
2. What was the most challenging moment in your journey so far?
I’ll be really honest here and say that I haven’t experienced many difficulties. I’ve worked very hard in my life, so I was very rigorous like a very passionate and rigorous dancer for 13 years that gave my blood and sweat to dancing and you know I was good at it, and I was also in the drama club in my college so I was doing theatres and all those things that I never thought I’d make a career out of it, so I never really tried to get into Hollywood at that time, but I think when lockdown happened it gave me a window of opportunity. . I was quickly recognized, so once I arrived here, I don’t think I faced many challenges, and we all know things started happening for me one after the other. The only hurdles I’ve encountered so far are that I’ve been replaced in several projects. I’d be promised to a project, and then at the last minute, they’d replace me without telling me, and I’d be ready and not get a call, so that has happened. I view everything in a positive light, therefore I always believe that everything happens for a purpose and that if it hadn’t happened to me, there would have been a better reward in my fortune.
3. Did you have any professional help or did you create it all by yourself? And please let us know about the changes you felt later after being much known?
I wouldn’t call it professional assistance, but I’d want to express my gratitude to my mother and sister for pushing me to do the video. I was an unsocial person; I didn’t use Instagram and had deactivated my Facebook account for 3-4 years at the time, so I wasn’t interested in producing movies or reels. . I never had a TikTok account, I admire people who do good things on Tik Tok, but I was never inclined to do these things. They pushed me a lot because it was locked down and I was at home, so I obliged and started doing it, and that is when it clicked and I started getting recognized. I would like to thank Smurti R, the director, for seeing a lot of potential in me and giving me a lot of chances, as well as Raja D.
4. How would you describe your style and is there a person who is a fashion inspiration to you?
I believe that your particular style is created by your smile and confidence. You may curate anything, but if you don’t have that wonderful grin on your face and the confidence to carry that clothing, it’s a failure. Ya, I’d say I’m inspired by Rachel’s character in Friends in terms of dress. I’ll like to dress up like that, you know girly yet casual and experimenting a lot with my styling not playing it safe to try new things but not trying too hard I always believe that showing too much skin is bad so if I’m wearing a sleeveless I’ll you know everything else is my body recovered I won’t be wearing a cropped sleeveless if I’m wearing a crop top then everything else will be covered like my it will be full. So that’s why I say balance is your entire style; you’re not trying too hard but still confident enough to carry the outfit if that makes sense.
5. Where and how was your childhood? Please let us know about your schooling?
I was born and raised in Berhampur, and throughout my life, I’ve been associated with one school, Saint Vincent’s Convent School, and I would say that my school is the reason for whatever I am, my entire personality, and my characteristics, and school is one of the foundations that may be strong enough, as you know. I believe I am a good orator, and the reason for this is my school life I was a good student I won’t say I was a topper but I was a very good student to score well in the subjects and my teachers loved me because I would do everything and manage everything properly like I was a dancer, a singer, I was doing art and craft even craft very well, and I was good in sports and yet I was also good in studies. You know, all of my professors adore me, and I had a strong bond with every one of them, and I believe I would be nothing if it weren’t for my school. I adore every one of them, as well as my school. I believe that my school has played a significant role in the development of my personality and identity. Another aspect about my youth that I’d want to express. My childhood was extremely hectic, and my mother insisted that all I do is come home, do my homework, and sleep because I would go to school and then come home from school, and then I would go to school and then come from school, and then she would have a tutor assigned to me because we had a large family, and my mother was the pillar of our family, and my grandmother was suffering. I had been into tuition since third grade, and after tuition, I would either have a dance class, a music class, or a drawing class, or if nothing else, I would have some other activity, like sports or something else, and then I would come home at 7.30 or 8 o’clock and do my homework, and I was so tired that I never watched TV. I would only watch cartoons and other similar things, and I would watch serials (you know, daily soaps) because my mother wouldn’t let me watch them much. So 11 o’clock was our you know timing where we had to sleep so that I could wake up every day at 5 a.m., and that stayed with me even when I was in an engineering college where it was mandatory to sleep late, so I would always sleep at 11 p.m.
6. Is it too difficult carrying the aura of being a female actor?
Is it tough, no; is it difficult, certainly, when there aren’t simply female actors? When you decide to be an actor or a public figure in Tollywood, Hollywood, Bollywood, or any other industry, you are committing to the fact that your life is no longer your own. Everyone is going to watch you, everyone is going to stock you, and you cannot separate that from you. Being a female in our society, for example, takes a lot. There have been times when people have tried to rub me the wrong way, rub me in the sense that they speak to me as if they know what I have to offer them if you know what I mean. I have been very strong in saying no to projects because I know that if I am talented enough, someone will recognize me without any other motive, but sometimes it so happens. That presents several difficulties for them; being a female performer in this field is difficult.
7. How do you feel about getting featured in The Interview Times?
I feel very honored, and when Prisita messaged me, it was a very difficult time for me because I was dealing with a lot of things at the time, and I couldn’t you know respond to her proactively, but I really felt good about being interviewed for such a large platform, and I am looking forward to the interview. I hope that I did justice to all of the questions, and I am very very happy I hope that this opportunity turns out well.
INTERVIEWED BY- PRISITA DAS
