Chennai: Nivetha Pethuraj is one actress with beauty, brain, and boldness. After doing over 25 films and winning millions of hearts, this brave girl is now on the street circuit to live her dream that she has been fostering since her childhood for racer cars.
Carving a niche
She has carved a niche for herself in the Tamil-Telugu film industry with no Godfather and proved her mettle in films including 'Orunal Koothu', Podhuvaga Emmanasu Thangam, 'Tik Tik Tik', and Red.
The path less taken
When the idea of driving a Formula Car may spook out most of the women including the contemporary actresses, Nivetha collects all the courage to traverse the road less taken successfully completing the Formula Race Car Level 1 training.
Following actor Ajith's Trail
Nivetha is the second celebrity from Tamil cinema to join the formula car race after actor Thala Ajith. Her fans have already started matching her sporty spirit with the former racing driver Ajith calling her 'Lady Thala'.
Nivetha Pethuraj opened up about her newly found adventurous journey with ABP Nadu in an exclusive interview.
We bring you the excerpts from the interview:
When did you develop an interest for cars?
I was in 8th grade then. We were living in Dubai. One of our neighbors bought the sports car next to the house. Since then I have been obsessed with cars.
My interest towards cars began during my school days when I was studying in 8th grade. One of my neighbors bought a sports car. It ignited my curiosity towards sports cars, and it kept brewing in me for years. In 2015, I purchased a Dodge Challenger sports car, and I was the second girl in UAE to get it. In fact, my father wasn’t happy as he was concerned with the V6 Engine, which has a fast racing power. Nonetheless, I was confident driving it and felt so cool.”
What was your family’s reaction? Were they nervous?
No, they were not nervous, they were very supportive. In fact, my Dad told me that I was slow on the track and he would have been faster if he would have been driving. I was shocked at his reaction.
Car racing is generally considered as a man's sport, isn’t it?
Yeah, that’s true. All the arduous sports are considered men-oriented sports, however, we need to break the stereotype. Today’s women are more talented and more capable to take part in any sort of sport. So Formula 1, Formula 2 car racing should be opened for them.
Are you facing any disadvantage being a female racing driver?
No, in fact, women have more advantages, because there are more sponsors available for female racing drivers. Women with 30 percent fitness and 60 to 65 kg of weight are fit for the game. I weigh 60.
Who congratulated you from cine world on your new move?
I have no friends in the cinema, so no one called me.
Will you be participating in car racing in the future?
Definitely...
Final note, we as an audience have seen her flying in space in the sci-fi movie 'Tik Tik Tik' released in 2018. However, it was awesome to see her in person doing a lap on the street circuit. We appreciated her brave move as a car racer and said goodbye on behalf of her fans.