Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (ANK)

Mangaluru, May 25: A young girl, who dreamt of becoming an actor, entered the sea of glamour world at the age of 17. Shraddha Salian made her mark in the acting arena with her stunning looks that were meant for camera.

Shraddha Salian, born and brought up in Mumbai, is the daughter of Meena Salian (Dave), a Gujrathi Bhramin and Ashok Salian, hailing from Udupi.

In a career of 12 years, Shraddha has created a strong base for herself in the Hindi Industry featuring in advertisements for famous brands and daily soaps to her credit before making her debut in Coastalwood.

She grabbed her chance in Coastalwood when she made her debut with 'Super Marmaye' directed by Ram Shetty and followed it up with 'My Name is Annappa' which will be released soon. Shraddha is all set to make her debut in Sandalwood with 'Ratanamanjari' which will be directed by Prasidh.

Shraddha is passionate about art and is a very spiritual person who likes to spend her time cooking in a show ‘Awesome Sauce’, doing Yoga, reading books and working out at the gym.

Shraddha has done a myriad of commerical advertisements with brands like 92.7 big FM with Abhishek Bachchan, Indian tourism for BBC, CNBC Home 18, IPL Set Max promo, Star Plus promo, a government advert for the ‘odd and even’ initiative in Delhi, Gold Winner cooking oil, 9X TV channel and Zandu Snez cure. Shraddha has appeared in three Hindi daily soaps thus far, making appearances in 'Saavdhan India', 'Jinee aur Juju' and 'Jhil Mil Sitaro Ka Aangan Hoga'.

Speaking about her struggles in the initial days of her career, Shraddha says, "My initial days’ work with advertisements had come through a lot of auditions, struggling day and night. Of course nothing comes easy without hard work. As I was good at dancing and drama from my school time, I was more inclined towards becoming an actor and fashion designer.”

Shraddha further says, "Being an half Mangalurean, I had a south thing for me in my mind and wanted to do a south movie. Director Ram Shetty approached me for the movie 'Super Marmaye' which landed me in Coastal wood.”

Shraddha had to face language barrier during her debut movie, and she says, "It is a little hard when parents speak different languages and my mom does not know Tulu. During my first film, I used to do word to word scripts which made it much easier for me and I was comfortable. I love Tulu tradition and it runs in my blood. Our language, spiritual rituals, grand weddings and the cuisine is so vibrant and heartwarming. My Tulu movie experience was amazing. Of course I was nervous because of the language barrier but the movie star cast helped me and made me comfortable. My mother Meena is my support system who walked along with me in my success.”

Shraddha also says, "Acting field is very competitive. It will always be so as new people join the industry often and everyone wants to become famous. I have faced challenges because of my height. Many people told me that I would not make it to the industry because of my height. But I think an actor or artiste is not measured by height. It is the art that matters and the passion with which one works is more important. And I have proven my critics wrong. It does not mean that only tall people can become actors. Luck, destiny and hard work mixed with passion gives you success.”