Yakshini was physically challenging but worth it, says actor Vedhika

CHENNAI: It's midday and Vedhika has been juggling between shoots and dubbing for her projects. However, she is all calm and composed as she gives us time for some detailed conversation on her latest series, Yakshini that is streaming on Disney+Hotstar since June 14 in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.

"Coming from the makers of Bahubali, there was no compromise from the beginning and was planned on a grand scale. When Teja told me the story, I was fascinated by the world of Yakshinis. I had received offers for OTT content before but I took time because I wanted to do something that is big. Yakshini ticked all boxes in terms of production, content and the platform," she begins.

Vedhika plays the titular role in the series, which she sees as icing on the cake. "It is overwhelming indeed. My previous projects were performance-oriented but playing a titular role gives you an additional responsibility. Also, OTT is a different ball game altogether. The canvas, the time frame as well the character arcs take their time to establish. I play a Yakshini called Maya, who is a temple god and is similar to Apsaras. They are spirits that are sensuous and are from another world. They have been mentioned in our mythologies and folklore as well," she opens up.

Though the timeframe is much longer and the character evolve for much longer time, Vedhika says there was hardly time for her to realise what was going on while shooting for the series. "Life was in fast forward mode. The makeup took a few hours and then I had to be on the sets and then we packup for the day, go to lounge and will have to be ready for the next day's shoot. I was on my toes and it was physically challenging. I performed stunts as well. But the efforts are totally worth it," Vedhika looks back.

The actor says that she has no time for a vacation given her busy schedule. "I dubbed for Yakshini in Hindi. Now I am dubbing for my other projects and I also have Mahal in Tamil. Sometimes, I sit and think if it was me, who pulled off things of such magnitude," she remarks with a smile.