Aug 28, 2026 4:20pm IST
Faria Abdullah On Producing ‘Lite Lelo’: ‘My Mother Broke Her Fixed Deposit To Fund My Song’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Rising Telugu star Faria Abdullah is making waves with her dance tracks in Jason Sanjay’s upcoming ‘Sigma.’ Prior to that, the actress released her self-produced rap song, “Lite Lelo.” In an exclusive interview with Variety India, Faria talks about her film debut, her passion for dancing and her breakout dance performances in recent times.
You were offered your Telugu debut film, ‘Jathi Ratnalu’ (2022) by Nag Ashwin. How did it come about?
I met him during a function held at my alma mater, Loyola College in Hyderabad. He was there as the chief guest. He asked me if I was an actress and if I would like to audition for this movie. At the time, I was applying for a film course at the Film and Television Institute in Pune. So, I had no plans of getting into the film industry. But then, I got rejected from film school. Six months later, I went back to him and asked if I could audition for him. He said yes as the film was also stuck at that point of time. He made me meet the director K.V. Anudeep. Later, I had a screen test with Naveen Polishetty.
Were you always passionate about dancing or did you train for it?
I have around seven years of theatre experience. And more than 10 years of dance experience. I have mostly specialized in street and studio danceforms. I've trained in different styles under many teachers, including hip-hop foundations, etc. I did a lot of workshops because I home-schooled for two years, my 11th and 12th. My parents were cool. So they found this A-Level Cambridge curriculum. And we did home schooling and fine arts and literature. But after that, I went to Loyola College, Hyderabad.
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Your two dance numbers in ‘Sigma,’ ‘Olammo Vagalaadi’ in Telugu and ‘Ayyayo Ammaadi’ in Tamil are chartbusters even before the film’s release. So, how did this come about?
I think Jason Sanjay has seen “Jathi Ratnalu.” That film has been a very pivotal moment in my life. I had no idea that the songs would get so popular. By the way, even the ‘Sigma Style’ rap song has caught on.
Any recent dance numbers that you wish you had done?
I really like Shamna Kasim’s dance in ‘Ala Bolelo’ from ‘Jailer 2.’ She is very good and she dances with her eyes. I would love to have done this song.
Let's talk about ‘Lite Le Lo.’ How did that come about?
It all began when I went to Orissa to shoot my Hindi Web series, "The Jengaburu Curse." I was there for three months. I met these lovely friends and artists. They are all amazing dancers, rappers, event organizers. This one guy suggested, "Bro, you have such unique slang. Why don't you start rapping in it?" I told him, "You, too, have to hop onto the track." I decided to make a video out of it and do a political satire. But four days before the shoot, my potential investors backed out. And that is when my mum stepped in and said, “We have a fixed deposit and we’re going to break it. We're going to make this happen.” It was pretty emotional. So, it just happened and I became a producer, thankfully, because of that move. I basically spent around a month promoting the song.
Any plans to try out Hindi cinema?
Surely, there are plans to go in that direction. I'm just waiting for the right opportunity to come through. Because once you build a certain foundation in the Telugu and Tamil industry, you don't want to step down from it or make your work feel like it's not gotten you to the places that you have gotten to.
What are you currently working on?
I'm waiting for my Telugu film “Bhagavanthudu” to release. It's a caste-based drama. And it's a very different character from anything I've done before. The director is G Gopi Vihari. Okay. And the co-star is Thiruveer. I'm shooting for another project with Satyadev. And it's called “Range Rover.” I have just started shooting for it.
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