From Instagram Reels to Sing Geetham: Ahilya on her unconventional journey to films

Growing up in Auroville, Ahilya says her world revolved around a community of roughly 3,000 people. When Instagram introduced Reels, she began posting short videos offering glimpses into her daily life and the township.

“I did it for fun. The content became popular and I enjoyed interacting with people. I never imagined it would lead to film offers,” she says with a laugh, in between promoting her new film in Hyderabad.

The audition call for her debut film, Shoojit Sircar’s I Want To Talk, arrived via an Instagram direct message. A similar message later invited her to audition for director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao’s Sing Geetham, the Telugu fantasy musical drama releasing on June 12.

Ahilya, who prefers to go by her first name, was born in Mumbai. “My father is Kashmiri and my mother is part Bengali, part Maharashtrian,” she says. Having lived in Auroville since the age of three, she is fluent in French and can understand Tamil.

Telugu, however, was unfamiliar territory. When she met filmmaker Nag Ashwin and the team at Vyjayanthi Films after clearing the auditions, she was drawn to the idea of a musical fantasy drama. “I was even more thrilled to work with a legend like Singeetham Srinivasa Rao garu, who has returned to direction in his 90s.”

Set in a fictional cursed village, Sing Geetham imagines a world where people communicate through songs rather than conversations. “It’s an ensemble film and all of us learnt and sang our lines,” says Ahilya.

Co-directed by Sankalp Gora and written by Gautami Challagulla, Shashank Chintalpudi and Nanda Kishore Emani, the film stars Ayaan, Ahilya and Shalini Kondepudi, with music by Devi Sri Prasad.

Ahilya recalls the extensive workshops that preceded filming. “We were learning our lines, emoting and singing. Singeetham sir would constantly guide us and help improve our performances. I play a fiery young woman whose heart is in the right place. Our biggest challenge was that we had no real reference point for a conversational musical in Indian cinema.”

Though the actors worked extensively with the script during rehearsals, some changes became necessary on set. “We realised that what worked in rehearsals did not always work during filming, so a few adjustments were made.”

If her performance as Abhishek Bachchan’s daughter in I Want To Talk felt natural, Ahilya attributes that ease to her early exposure to performing arts. “I am not formally trained in theatre or music, but I loved participating in school plays and being part of a music band.”

The transition from Auroville to the sets of a Shoojit Sircar film, she says, was less daunting than one might expect. “The atmosphere was warm and intimate, and the production didn’t feel like a massive mainstream set. I never felt intimidated. Working with Shoojit sir and later with Nag Ashwin and his team felt like validation. It made me realise that perhaps my talent could be recognised beyond my small world in Auroville.”

Throughout the conversation, Ahilya returns to how fortunate she feels to be part of unconventional projects.

“Singeetham sir and Nag Ashwin have created incredible films, and I’m aware of Nag sir’s ability to spot talent,” she says, referring to how he introduced Mrunal Thakur to Telugu cinema with Sita Ramam and cast Keerthy Suresh in Mahanati. “When I look back at Sing Geetham, my biggest takeaway is to stay curious and be brave enough to think outside the box.”