Why do Rashmika Mandanna’s friends not include her in their plans? Actress opens up about her ‘every day battle’

She’s one of the brightest stars in Indian cinema today, lighting up screens across languages and industries. But while Rashmika Mandanna’s fame continues to soar, the actress recently revealed a deeply personal truth—the emotional price of her success. In an honest and moving interview with The Nod Mag, Rashmika opened up about what it truly feels like to live in the fast lane.

For someone who has spent the past eight years hopping between film sets, languages, and time zones, Rashmika admitted that she’s been feeling the weight of her absence from a normal life. “I haven’t gone home in one and a half years. I don’t get to see my friends,” she shared. She reflected on how, in the past, her friends would at least include her in their plans, but now, they don’t include her at all, a change that she finds quietly heartbreaking and calls it a “sad reality”.

Rashmika Mandanna about missing her sister

One of the most emotional parts of her interview was about her bond with her younger sister, Shiman, who is 16 years younger than her. Rashmika confessed that her packed schedule has kept her away from watching her sister grow up. Her sister is about 13 now. And in the last eight years, since she started working, she hasn’t seen her grow up. The actress shared that her little sister is almost the same height as her, and she missed out on this journey. The actress didn’t shy away from expressing how much that distance hurts and how she cries for off days.

Rashmika recalled her mother’s advice that one must choose between personal and professional success. But she doesn’t fully agree—believing instead that with enough effort, it's possible to balance both, even if it means fighting an “every day battle”.

About Rashmika Mandanna's career

Born and brought up in the serene hills of Karnataka’s Kodagu district, Rashmika’s journey into the spotlight began when she moved to Mysore after class 10, and then to Bengaluru for college. While pursuing her degree in English Literature, Psychology, and Journalism at MS Ramaiah College, she participated in the Clean & Clear Fresh Face campaign—a move that unexpectedly set her on the path to modelling and then to acting.

She made her debut in 2016 with the Kannada hit Kirik Party and quickly rose to fame with a series of successful films across Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil cinema. With Geetha Govindam (2018), she earned a Filmfare Critics Award, and by 2021, Pushpa: The Rise catapulted her to pan-India stardom. More recently, she appeared in big-ticket releases like Animal, Pushpa 2: The Rule, Chhaava and Sikandar.