Ramya all set to motivate Bangalore's youth to become politically active

Ramya has had many highs this year. The success of her film Sanju Weds Geetha, organising an entrepreneurial summit in Lisbon and now joining the Youth Congress, to name a few. After Hrs caught up with the actor, who’s currently  cheering for the T20 team she’s the ambassador for as she prepares for her stint in the Youth Congress.

Excerpts of the interview...

I’ve always had an inclination…
I remember when I’d just got out of college, like every youngster, I’d also wanted to change the system and do something. While a little bit of cynicism did creep in later on, I always had that proactive streak in me. I felt that unless one isn’t part of the system, you cannot change it.

The sword hanging on me…
I’ve been approached to be part of the Congress many times. I was even asked to contest in elections, but I didn’t think the time was right. In fact, I am still not ready for elections. But I do feel that it’s the right time to join Youth Congress.

Only the youth can…
The power of the youth is too great for them to understand it themselves. It took 42 years and an Anna Hazare to get the country’s youth to realise that, together, they can. While that is good, it also is disheartening to notice that the country has been sitting idle all this while. Every single person is capable of being a leader. You need to take it upon yourself to sanitise the system.

Wake up Bangalore...
If you take a look at cities like Delhi, the students and unions at  Delhi University have so much  power. They are all politically active. It’s not the same in the South. I want to look towards ensuring that the youth here become more proactive as opposed to sitting in front of a television and cribbing.

I look up to Sonia Gandhi
In the Congress, I really respect Veerappa Moily, SM Krishna and Rahul Gandhi. I’m not a feminist, but I believe that it is a great achievement that someone like Sonia Gandhi has risen up to lead a country where gender bias is still prevalent. I’m looking at encouraging more of my friends, especially women, to be part of politics. Times have changed today — people do not look at women as pretty faces in the party anymore. Time will also prove that I’m much more than a pretty face and I mean business when I’m entering politics.

Films will continue…
I’m not really looking at quitting films. I’ve always been choosy about the kind of films I do. I’m not going to take up any more films this year. I’d like to give politics  more importance. But, when interesting films do come my way, I will give my nod to them.