Thursday, 23 April, 2015

When Arjun Srinivas graduated from the University of Wollongong in Dubai with a Bachelors of Business Administration degree in 2012, he had no idea that in just three short years he would find himself far from the world of commerce and instead on a beach in Fiji filming his latest acting role.Srinivas is currently starring in Yalli, a Tamil movie which comes hot on the heels of two other leading film roles for the budding star. Over the course of his short professional acting career, he has been a hit with the growing Chennai film industry, proving able to play both the romantic hero in Vazhapazham, and the villain in Raman, two movies which are expected to be released later this year."When I was growing up, all I knew is that I wanted to be in a field where art was involved", explains Arjun."After I graduated from UOWD, I relocated to Chennai with nothing in my hands, determined I would do everything I could to give it a shot at breaking into the industry that I'd been captivated with since I was a child. And if it didn't work - well, I had a good degree from a good university which provided an element of security."With no formal acting training when he first started out, the road ahead for Srinivas was never going to be an easy one. "The past three years have been a lot of hard work. I've had to sacrifice a lot, along with brushing up on my acting and dancing through taking regular classes. There’s no fixed salary doing what I do, and trying to make it has been really tough at times” says the actor.The road to success has seen Srinivas host a number of reality shows for Raj TV, a network which owns channels in multiple languages covering southern Indian States. He also had a stint as an Assistant Director for an advertising agency.Srinivas believes that although his career isn’t directly related to his degree program, his studies at UOWD have proven imperative to his success. “UOWD is such a multicultural place; it means that wherever life takes me now I never feel out of place. My ability to network successfully was so important too – a skill I learnt at university.”And his top tips for the next generation of actors looking to break in to one of India’s biggest film genres?“Many people think that acting is easy, that it’s a bed of roses. But it requires a lot of struggle, modesty, honesty, hard work- and, to be completely honest – a bit of luck too.”