Rakshita Prem

Rakshita was brought up in Bangalore. Her father B. C. Gowrishankar was a cinematographer and mother Mamatha Rao, an actress, both of whom worked in Kannada films. Rakshita underwent an acting course under Krishnamurthy Kavathar's tutelage for about 15 days before entering films. Pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer applications (BCA) from Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College in Bangalore at the time, she discontinued during the first year before enrolling in a correspondence course for a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2001. During this time, she was signed to play the lead opposite Puneeth Rajkumar in Appu (2002) by producer Parvathamma Rajkumar who gave her the name Rakshita.