Actor Rashmika Mandanna has announced an initiative to support 400 families by providing them with groceries for three months. The actor shared the news on Instagram, along with a video showing her team distributing ration kits.
She said her role as Jayamma in the upcoming film Ranabaali inspired her to speak publicly about a previously private act of kindness.
Rashmika explained that she wanted to share the initiative in the hope that it would encourage others to help people in their own way. She wrote, “There is something in the characters you play that influence you.. A lot of you keep asking whether there are any similarities between Jayamma and me, and my answer is yes – and this is one of them.. this has always been me and this is also her.. and I would always keep doing things like this for all the love that you give me.. but always kept this under the wraps cz I thought if I knew and just my team knew and just a bunch of us knew.. it was enough.. but now I am opening up about this because I am thinking.. if this could influence you lovelies out there to do anything like this.. I would be happy. So hence I thought why not start now.. with this!.”
She further explained how the initiative would work, saying, “I’ve adopted 400 families today.. and I want to just help 400 families at a time for 3 months each and continue this for the next one year and hope that they can save that money of groceries and use it to save and plan their futures better.. Even a small act of kindness can change a person’s life and it doesn’t have to be big.. let’s all start with something small! And trust me all these smiles are worth every sleepless nights, the injuries, the struggles, the pain the tears the everything that I’ve gone had to go through over the last working years.. this is priceless!”
How Ranabaali inspired Rashmika Mandanna
Rashmika’s upcoming film Ranabaali draws inspiration from the Great Famine of 1876-78, one of the deadliest famines in colonial India. Repeated droughts affected large parts of southern and western India, including Rayalaseema, which is now part of Andhra Pradesh. The continued export of grain during the crisis has also been a subject of historical scrutiny, as millions suffered from starvation and its consequences.
The film tells a fictional story set in South India during the 1870s. Vijay Deverakonda plays a rebellious warrior who takes on a British commissioner while fighting to protect his region and its people. Rashmika plays Jayamma, his wife and partner in the rebellion.
Rashmika and Vijay Deverakonda reunite on screen
Directed by Rahul Sankrityan, Ranabaali marks Rashmika and Vijay’s first film together since their marriage. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on October 16.
With her latest initiative, Rashmika hopes to encourage more people to take small steps towards helping others, while sharing how her character in the film has influenced her personally.