Mithya actor Avantika Dassani: Proud to be known as Bhagyashree’s daughter, but here to make my name

After making her acting debut with Mithya, a web show where she shared screen space with actor Huma Qureshi, actor Avantika Dassani feels it’s inevitable to feel some pressure of hailing from a film family.

The daughter of actor Bhagyashree says, “Before this show released, it was ‘ Bhagyashree’s daughter’, but all the reviews had my name in the title. So that was nice. Obviously, she is my mother, Abhimanyu (Dassani, actor) is my brother, and I am very proud of them. I don’t have any problem and more than happy to be referred as her daughter and his sister. But I am here to make my name, my identity with my work, and make both of them proud as well.”

In fact, the 27-year-old believes that while the pressure to live up to her family’s name is there “every single day”, it only motivates her to carve her own path.

“I am not going to say there is no pressure. I want to do it exactly the way my mother or brother (actor Abhimanyu Dassani) did it. They came out of their own decisions, what felt right to them and the choices which have paid off for them. If I am supposed to take something from them, this is what I have — the ability to make strong choices which resonate with who I am.”

Being referred to as someone’s daughter owing to her lineage — does that get to her? Dassani says being known by her own name will also happen after a point. “You should concentrate on your work, so you are not concerned about the pressure. What really matters is the work you are doing,” she says.

Elated with the response her debut acting stint fetched her, the actor says it’s an amazing feeling to be appreciated. “The show had such a great cast and crew, I knew it was going to be a good show when I read the script. To get this kind of a response is overwhelming,” she ends.