Genelia

Genelia is shooting for Krishna Vamsi’s latest film Sasirekha Parinayam in Ramoji Film City now. She is playing the title character in this film. Idlebrain.com visited RFC to get an interview with Genelia. Here are the excerpts.


Tell us about your experience in working with Krishna Vamsi?
I heard that he is arrogant and egoistic before accepting this film. While doing Sasirekha Parinayam I have realized that Krishna Vamsi is an institution. His passion for films rubs on you. I am feeling fortunate to have worked with him. My experience in Sasirekha Parinayam made me a better actress today. Krishna Vamsi is a kind of director who makes films for passion of making films, but not for end results.

Did you watch any of Krishna Vamsi’s films?
Yes. I loved watching Murari.

How different are you in this film compared to other films?
There is no make-up for me in this film. Yet I look glamorous. There is soul in this character.

What is Sasirekha Parinayam film all about?
Sasirekha Parinayam film is about Sasirekha running away from her marriage because she does not believe in dowry. She is against the concept of the boy treated a commodity and pay dowry to him. On the way, she meets Abhimanyu. Sasirekha Parinayam is a journey into a woman’s heart. Women are taken for granted in this society. Every woman will indentify with Sasirekha character. Sasirekha Parinayam is a romantic film.

Is Sasirekha Parinayam a remake of Jab We Met?
No. Sasirekha Parinayam has no resemblance to Jab We Met. It is a journey film like Jab We Met. That is where the similarity ends.

Your earlier film Ready is also about a girl who ran away from marriage? You seem to be earning the tag of ‘Run Away Bride’?
I hope I don’t run away from my real marriage (giggles). I loved the ‘Runaway Bride’ Hollywood flick. I don’t mind acting in a remake of that film.

How similar is Sasirekha character to your real self?
I always wanted to be a straight-forth girl like Sasirekha, but I end up being diplomatic because of my profession. Sasirekha acts upon her instincts. If she wants to jump into Godavari she jumps. If she does not like something, she runs away.

What makes you proud of yourself as an actress?
I am doing heroine role in three languages of Bommarillu (Telugu, Hindi and Tamil). It gives me immense satisfaction.

You seem to be delivering hits in all languages?
I delivered a super hit each in four languages – Satya (Kannada), Santosh Subramaniyam (Tamil), Ready (Telugu) and Jaane Tu (Hindi) this year. I guess I am the only heroine who delivered 4 super hits in four languages in one year.

Which language do you prefer to act in if you get equally good scripts in these four languages?
I enjoy doing films in all languages. But it is Telugu film industry that accepted me. Telugu film industry is like my school where I spent my first 6 years. I prefer Telugu films over other languages because Telugu film industry is like my home.

What is your criterion for accepting films?
Script is the first factor I look into. I don’t mind doing a 5-minute role if it’s worth it. Secondly I should have comfort level with director/producer I work with. Remuneration is never the criterion for me.

You had dubbing artists working for you in regional languages. How comfortable you are at dubbing in Hindi?
I feel that dubbing myself is an integral part of acting. Though I don’t dub in regional films, I make sure I learn each and every line and tell that during the shooting. That is the reason why there is perfect lip sync in my regional films. There were instances when I used to by-heart 1 and half hour page of Telugu dialogues and utter those at one go.

Tell us about your diet?
I am basically an athlete. I was a state level runner and I played for national football team. Hence, I am fit. I don’t stay away from any kind of food. If I like something, I binge onto it. I love biryani, even if it’s oily.

What are the other projects you are doing now?
I am doing Bommarillu in Hindi. It is called ‘It’s my life’. I am also doing ‘Life Partner’ in the direction of Abbas Mastan.

Sonia

Sonia who gave a stupendous performance as Shravs in her debut blockbuster Happy Days has become the dream date of Telugu youth overnight. Her second film Vinayakudu is all set to hit the marquee on November 21 in the USA and on 22 in India. Here is an exclusive interview with Sonia -


Why did you accept Vinayakudu film?
I accepted the Vinayakudu film in March 2008. I liked the script. It is an urbane story with interesting style of characterizations. It has an off-beat storyline and gripping narrative style.
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How do you compare your Shrav's character in Happy Days with the one in Vinayakudu?
In the Happy Days film, I did not have many dialogues. I had to convey through expressions. But my role in Vinayakudu is very different. I come across like a very talkative girl in this film. I did a college girl character in Happy Days and I am playing the role of a working woman in Vinayakudu. I am daddy's girl in Vinayakudu who is ambitious and pursue whatever she wants.

How different is Sai Kiran Adivi compared to Sekhar Kammula?
Sai Kiran inherited patience from Sekhar Kammula. Both of them have loads of patience and explain us what they want. I have lots of respect and awe for Sekhar Kammula and my relationship with Sekhar Kammula is more like that of student and teacher. Sai Kiran is like a friend to me and I have more freedom on the sets with him.

What do you think is the strength of Vinayakudu?
The story is the main strength of the film. There will not be any exaggerated drama. It will be a smooth and feel good film. I can't say anymore about it as I have not watched the film yet.

You had a bespectacled nerd and a fat guy proposing to you in Happy Days and Vinayakudu respectively. What is your criterion in your real life if you get a similar proposal?
I might sound like a cliche. But it's true. Physical features are secondary for me. Looks are momentary and fade away after a while. What stays for the whole life is the character. I am looking for a guy with good character as my life partner than a guy with good looks.

You are doing Tamil version of Happy Days. Are there any changes?
I am doing the same character of Shravs in Tamil too. I am the only actor from Telugu cast who is working in the Tamil aswell. I don't see any major differences between Telugu and Tamil version.

How do you react to the fan following?
I had a dream launch with Happy Days film. The kind of response I got was flattering. After doing Happy Days, I realized that I got some in-born talent in me. I am very happy when somebody recognize and praise me.

A couple of my friends talked to you when you were partying in pubs. Don't you feel that people who approach you like that are invading your privacy?
I am OK with people coming and talking to me. Since I acted in film, it is only natural for people to want to talk to me. I remember those days when I wanted to talk to Chiranjeevi when Aapadbhandavudu film was shot in our St. Ann's college. When somebody says hi to me I treat them well and reply them. But I don't like it when people call me Shravs from behind and expect me turn around and acknowledge them.

In the last interview, you expressed you wish to start a flower shop?
Yes. The plan is still on. I am looking at taking a local franchise of a big national level florist chain.

What is your materialistic dream?
I love to have an independent or a penthouse. I want to have lot of space in my house so that I can have plants and pets. I am a pet lover. I have puppy now and I also want to have a cat and rabbits. I don't want to live in a match-box kind of place.

What about a car. You still wanna depend on cabs?
I bought a decent second-hand car recently and I started driving. I am happy with it. My dream car is BMW convertible. But Hyderabad roads are not ready yet for my dream car, I guess.

You roles in Happy Days and Vinayakudu are similar. Don't you think you will get branded?
I don't know my potential as an actress yet. I don't like to be called as either commercial heroine or an off-beat heroine. I would love to do the role in films like Raincoat. I wanna do roles that inspire emotions in people. I want to do roles with sheer depth.

Who is your role model?
I like the way Genelia is handling her career. I would like to model my career like Tabu by balancing between art films and commercial films. I love Amitabh Bachchan the way he moulded his career spanning so many decades.

Curly hair and spaghetti style is your brand now. Do you straighten your hair if the role demands it?
Yes. My hair is curly by nature. There are some moments where I got it straightened for a brief time in the past. I don't mind straightened hair.

Are you tensed about the release of Vinayakudu?
I was tensed up yesterday night. Not any more. Just waiting to watch the premiere tonight.

Anushka

Anushka - one of the most successful and happening actresses of Telugu cinema – has done the title of role a female oriented film ‘Arundhathi’. This film is a thriller with extravagant production values. Arundhati is all set to release on 14 January 2009. Idlebrain.com met this ever-smiling and amicable actress Anushka for an exclusive interview. Here are the excerpts

Tell us about Arundhati?
Arundhati is a vengeance drama. The story starts in 1920’s in Gadwal Samsthanam. Jejamma faces a problem and she is killed. That problem is carried on to later generations. It is faced by Arundhati who is born in the current generation of the same lineage. This film is about how Arundhati fights back and solves the problem. I am doing both the roles of Jejamma and Arundhati.

Tell us about the difference between these two characters and how you portrayed them?
If you look at village scenario, it is always woman in any house who stands up during the crisis and solves it. Women exhibit lots of strength during crisis time. Jejamma is such kind of lady who takes over the mantle of responsibility from her father. The entire Jejamma episode is narrated in flashbacks. And it consists of 30% of the movie.

Aundhati is a today’s girl who is modern and tender. But she also possesses the same strength to stand up and fight in the times of crisis.

Regarding the portrayal, I just followed the instructions of Kodi Rama Krishna. He is an expert at it. Jejamma character has heavy costumes and royal look. Hence the sets and costumes and body language portray the splendor of Jejamma character from a long shot. The make-up and jewelry made a lot of difference to Jejamma character from a close-up.

Who designed costumes for you?
Deepa Joshi designed my costumes for Lakshyam and Don films. She designed costumes for this film as well. She did a lot of home work and brought Jejamma character the majestic look with appropriate costumes. She made sure that there is strong royal touch to the Jejamma character and subtleness to Arundhati character with her designs.

Tell us about the drum dance in the film?
This song took us around 45 days to shoot. This song integrates the scenes of Pasupathi (played by Sonu Sood) entering Gadwal to the story. There are instrumentation bits in the song. There are some dialogues too. It is like a vital scene narrated in aesthetic style using music and dance. It took so much time because there are lots of graphics involved for this song and the choreographer Shiva Shankar had to coordinate with the graphics team to get the exact precision. There are many set changes in the song. The director went into detailing to make sure that the song is effective.

Is there so much coordination between the shoot and graphics?
Yes. Rahul and others from FireFly were involved in this project since the time of conceptualization. Hence there is seamless integration of graphics in the script work. They know the detailing and helped us by being present at shooting spot for the shots that required graphics work.

Tell us about the music?
Koti scored music. He has done an amazing job. There will be three songs in this film. And there is character to each song in this film. Music will be launched on 10 January.

Tell us about Sonu Sood?
Sonu Sood has done a brilliant job. Though his screen presence is less, his voice will act as a character that is present throughout the film. The other character that acts as a bridge between the past and the present is one played by veteran actress Manorama.

Tell us about the producer Shyam Prasad Reddy?
I have a high respect and higher regards to him as a producer. People used to say that Shyam is a passionate producer. And I feel that it is an understatement. He is so clear about what he wants and he gets it to the precision level of 99.9%.

I would like to narrate an incident that shows his commitment level. The set was ready and three designers were summoned to do costumes for Jejamma character. It cost around 4 lacs for the costumes. He asked me to wear them and stand in the set. Immediately he said that it’s not working and asked them scrap the costumes. Any other producer would have hesitated to trash a 4 lac worth costume. He asked me to find another designer and we roped Deepa in.

How many days did you work for Arundhati?
Around 150 days.

Was it stressful?
It was stressful physically. But on the psychological level, we were extremely charged up all the time. It was like making a magnum opus. All of us believed that the movie is bigger than individuals. Each and every individual shown 100% commitment and contributed their might. Everybody was focused. There are two guys from Art department (Venkatesh and Krishna) who surprised me with this willingness to go for an extra mile. They used to work for 24 hours and were still willing to do more. There is another guy called Kunkuma Raju who took care of continuity. He is so obsessed with his work that he makes sure that even a strand of hair is perfectly arranged to make sure of continuity.

What is your gut feel on the film?
I am feeling very positive about the film. I saw the rushes in monitor when the shot was complete at shooting location. I have not seen the final product yet. People might think that it is a horror film. Arundhati is not a horror film. It is a thriller film with every emotion evenly incorporated in it. It has high emotions.

This is your first female oriented film? Will your story selection criteria change after this film’s release?
I was only 3 films old when I accepted this film. Working for Arundhati is like going to school for me. Arundhati film helped me to grow as an actress. I would like to balance my future projects by doing both masala characters and author backed roles.

What are the other projects you are doing at present?
I am doing Billa with Prabhas. The shooting has been continuously going on in Malaysia since November 2008. I signed Tamil remake of Vikramarkudu with Karthik as hero. I am doing another Tamil film with Vijay as hero.

colors swathi

She is young, bubbly, sassy and perhaps the most precious find for the Telugu Film Industry in the recent years. It's Colors Swati for you, who brought a young presence to the small screen with her chat show Colors on Maa TV couple of years back. The year 2008 proven to be lucky for this Visakhapatnam girl. Besides stabilizing her position with Tollywood in the role of Lavanya in Ashta Chemma she also stepped in to Kollywood with Subramaniyapuram. Currently riding high on the crest of success wave, Swati gives an exclusive interview to idlebrain.com. Here are the excerpts.

Background:
I was born in Vladivostok (USSR). My father worked for the Indian Navy and he was then posted in USSR as a submariner. The Russian lady doctor named me as ‘Svetlana’ which means ‘beautiful girl’ but mom changed it to Swati.

We shifted to Bombay and then we moved to the Eastern Naval Command in Vizag. I spent most of my childhood in Vizag. We shifted to Hyderabad when I was in my 11th standard. I had some free time after EAMCET and my aunt Lakshmi Medapati was doing a program for MAA TV and she wanted me to do a promo. I was not interested. I was not very familiar with Telugu as I was brought up in the Naval community where we would communicate mostly in Hindi and English. She took me to the studio and the make-up irritated me. They asked me to talk about movies. I talked about Spider man, Vizag beach and necklace road. Everybody started clapping after I finished the test and I wondered why. Adavi Srinivas from MAA TV called my mother and told her that he is planning a program called ‘Colors’ and wanted me to host that program. I started it as time pass and did more than 150 episodes. It started with a 30 minute slot on Wednesday. Then it was shifted to 30-minute slot on Saturday. With the popularity it gained, Colors program was given 1-hour prime spot on Sunday in less than two months of its first episode.

I joined bio technology course at St. Mary’s in Yusuf Guda. I liked the atmosphere in that college, because they do not give any extra attention to celebrities and popular faces. I did quite well in studies and am extremely thankful to all my teachers, especially my chemistry teacher Shobha ma’am and the prinicpal Mahender Reddy of St.Mary’s who always supported and encouraged me.

I got many film offers the moment I started anchoring Colors program. I had just turned 17 then and I was too young to do films. I had zero inclination towards acting in films. I wanted to finish my graduation. At the same time I kept my loyalties to Colors program and MAA TV. Every program comes with a shelf life and I decided to discontinue Colors program when it was highly popular.

After completion of 1st year of graduation, I got an offer to make my debut in Danger. It was a nice package to debut. Krishna Vamsi had taken permission from my principal. After 2nd year, I accepted AMAV (Adavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule). After 3rd year, I did Subramanyapuram (Tamil) and Ashta Chemma.

What did you want to become when you were a kid?
I wanted to become a doctor, and once when I went to the circus as kid I got so overwhelmed with it that I wanted to join the circus and run away with them. I also loved the way lady naval officers looked in their uniforms. I wanted to join defense. Now I realize that I landed in the right profession because I will get an opportunity to do all the roles I aspired to become.

Do you like being called as ‘Colors’ Swati?
I do agree that Colors got me immense recognition. But I want to be called as Swati. I would like to have an identity for myself. I don’t want people to associate me with any of the work I have done. When people call me ‘colors’ in public, I refuse to acknowledge them.

What is the difference between anchoring and acting?
In colors program, only two people are involved. One is me and the other one is the caller. But, our conversation should entertain many people who are no way connected with both of us. In order to entertain, I had to appear highly energetic and hyperactive. And just because I appear hyperactive, people might think that I am that kind of a person in real life. I could speak crazy stuff and get away with it in ‘colors’ program. But acting is more serious and complex job.

So how different is real Swati compared to the characters you have done on TV and big screen?
I am a bundle of contradictions. It also depends on the person I am with and the mood I am in. I am little bit of every thing.

What is your current status?
I have completed my graduation. All the directors I have worked with have advised me not take my talent for granted and had asked me to give acting a serious shot and now I have decided I should continue working in films. It is very difficult to reach the position I am in now. I should make use of it. I did four different characters in four films. I am proud of them.

How do you do acting?
The whirling sound of camera when it rolls is the one that triggers the actor in me. I go to a different space when camera rolls.

I feel that filmmaking is a team work. All of us should contribute our best in order to make a film happen. Even if a light boy does a bad job, it reflects on the film. One individual can cause damage to the entire product. Hence I try to be perfect on my side all the time.

Which is the most watched film among yours?
I watched Asta Chemma five times. I remember watching Ashta Chemma in a packed theater for 10:30 pm show. We did not have a place to sit. We were standing and looking at the reactions of audiences instead of watching the screen. It was such a gratifying experience watching the audiences getting entertained by our films.

Tell us about your parents?
Ours is a closely knit family. I have an elder brother Siddharth. My dad works for the Merchant Navy now. My mother always stood by me. My parents are very supportive and very friendly. There is lot of communication among us. I am blessed and very fortunate to have such a supportive family. Touchwood!

What is your take on gossips?
People think that films are easy but it is the exact opposite. Most people’s lives thrive on films (watching and gossiping). Ours is such a field where anybody can criticize. I do take criticism in the right spirit but it also depends on who is giving it and I am growing to a level where I am not perturbed by malicious gossips.

Are you a fan of Mahesh Babu in real life too?
I am not a frantic fan to anybody. That kind of obsession comes in your teens. I was in showbiz in my teens years and I got a chance to meet all the film celebrities personally.

Your best work till date?
I give my best to all my films, each one is special in its own way.

You dubbed your voice to Ileana in Jalsa. Tell us about it?
I treat dubbing as a valuable profession. I feel that it is as challenging as acting. I do perform while doing dubbing in a dubbing theater.

What do you do in your spare time?
I prefer lazying around at home, reading, writing and doing my own thing.

What kind of books do you read?
I loved reading Gone with the wind
, Crime & Punishment, Anthem and am still reading Anna Karenina. I read books of Sidney Sheldon, Robin Cook, Jeffrey Archer, John Grisham, Arthur Hayley, Lin Yutang for light reading but I also love reading Paulo Cohelo, Ayn Rand and many more, the list can go on. If I like a book by an author, I try and read the entire collection of that author, though it’s not easy and I enjoyed the entire collection of Harry Potter.

What do you write?
I do blog. But I don’t want to reveal the address of my blog. I do blog when I am upset or happy. I love writing long e-mails to communicate and to stay in touch, but only to friends and dear ones.

What is your opinion on movies made on books?
It depends. Ashta Chemma was beautifully interpreted, all thanks to Mohan Krishna, but usually we get much bigger impression when we read books. I saw the Harry Potter film. But I like Harry Potter book much better.

What kind of films did you watch when you were kid?
Mary Poppins, Sound of Music
, almost all the films by Mani Ratnam, Arth, Damini, Mausum, Mr. India and Kshanakshanam to name a few. Mr. India, Anjali, Mayabazaar and ET were my favorite films when I was a kid.

What kind of films you want to do in future?
I am getting very good offers but most of them are coming to be with a preconceived notion that I am capable of doing only certain kind of roles. I don’t want to go by public image. I want to do different films.

Who are your favorite actresses?
It changes with movies. I like certain actresses in certain films.

Tamanna

Tamanna shot to fame with her portrayal of Madhu character in the blockbuster Happy Days. She got equally busy in Tamil and Telugu film industry. She is playing the role of a village girl Geeta in 5 February release KIKK. Here is the exclusive interview of Tamanna Bhatia

How is life after the success of Happy Days movie?
Happy Days success made me busy in Telugu and Tamil film industries. I am doing all quality projects now.

How did KIKK happen?
I was looking to do a quality love story and KIKK came on my way. It was a perfect choice for me. I am playing the role of Geeta. I am doing the role of a village girl for the first time in my career. Geeta is also understated and sober person. She has principles and certain views which she follows religiously. It is a sweet character.

How is like working with Siddhardh?
I saw Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana and Siddhardh is a fabulous actor. I also loved Rang De Basanthi. We make a perfect couple of KIKK. Siddhardh is awesome in love stories.

Tell us about the director Kishore Kumar?
Though he is a first timer, you do never feel that you are working with a debutant director. He is confident about the script. Script is the biggest plus of the film. He has got great organization skills which made the jobs of us easier. We finished the shoot as per the schedule because of his planning.

How is Bujji as a producer?
He is thorough professional and would go to any extent to get his product right.

What do you think will be highlights of the film?
Apart from the script, music and the combination of Siddhardh and Prakash Raj are going to be highlights.

1. Music: Music is interwoven with the story. All the numbers of KIKK are melodious and meaningful. Music will pep-up the film and raise the levels of emotional scenes.

2. Prakash Raj – Siddhardh combination: Prakash Raj and Siddhardh make the perfect pair of father and son. They played as father and son in NVNV and Bommarillu. But their relationship in KIKK is going to be entirely different.

Which language do you prefer – Telugu or Tamil?
My preference is always to the script. Not to any language.

What do you look for in scripts?
I look for the pace (speed) in narration. I feel that pace is very important along with the emotions for any film.

What are the other projects you are doing now?
I am currently doing the Tamil remake of Jab We Met which is being produced by Moser Baer. Bharat (Premiste fame) plays male lead. I am also doing another Tamil film in Lingu Swamy direction. Karthik plays the hero. I got offers in huge projects of Telugu cinema including that of Mahesh Babu, but could not accept them due to dates problem.

Who is your role model as an actress?
I grew up watching Madhuri Dixit films. Madhuri Dixit is my role model.

What is your dream role?
Chandramukhi character played by Jyothika.

Did you watch any movies recently?
I watched Ghajini and Slumdog Millionaire. I loved both the films. I am highly impressed with the soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire. It is as haunting as that of Titanic soundtrack.

What are your all time favorite movies?
Titanic, Moghul E Azam, Life is Beautiful, Dil To Pagal Hain and DDLJ.

How do you maintain your fitness?
I do make sure that I workout for 30 minutes to one hour every day. I do run, exercise or dance. Consistency is important.

What about diet?
I avoid fattening foods (fried or oily). I don’t stop any anything, but eat little bit of everything. I eat in small quantities.

How do you manage your looks?
I have to take care of what God has given me. I do sleep a lot. I do take off make-up as soon as the shooting is over. I do take right food. The body recuperates faster if our diet is good.

What are your hobbies?
I sleep a lot. I do watch lots of films in my spare time. I do relax and prefer to me along whenever I find some idle time. I do also write poetry and quotations. I am a day-dreamer.

Shraddha Das

We hardly find any actress from Mumbai to be so determined and passionate about making a bright long term career in Telugu. She grabbed five Telugu films in a gap of six months. She learnt Telugu and fighting her way up to become a notable heroine in Telugu cinema. Checkout idlebrain.com’s exclusive interview with this upcoming actress Shraddha Das

Background:
I am basically a Bengali. I was born and brought up in Mumbai. I graduated in Mass Communications with a specialization in journalism from SIES (South Indian Education Society), Mumbai. I was a nerd at school and was very fond of studies. My father also asked us to concentrate on studies.

Life changed for me after Sushmita Sen won Miss Universe. She was an inspiration for me when I was a kid. She is the perfect definition of beauty with brains. I wanted to be like her. Generally, Bengalis are known for their inclination towards various arts. I learnt singing and dancing. I used to sing and compere local events in free time.

While doing my graduation I worked in theater. I attended workshops conducted by the NSD (National School of Drama) artists like Piyush Mishra, Chittaranjan Giri and Salim Shah. I acted in print adverisements like McDowells, Aristocrat and over 400 catalogues. After that I got grooming in Gladrags academy.

Lahore
During the last year of my college, I got an offer to work for a film titled Lahore which focuses on India-Pakistan relationship. The shooting of this film took place for one and half years. This film is due for the release in this summer. It has won an award at Houston Film Festival.

Target and Siddhu from Sikakulam
That was when I auditioned for a Telugu film titled Target. I didn’t know anything about Telugu film industry. I accepted that film and acted in it. I attended the premiere of Gamyam at that time and Allari Naresh noticed me. He recommended me to his film Siddhu from Srikakulam. But I was betrayed. They told that it was the role of a heroine and I realized later that my character in that movie is worse than that of a second heroine. I didn’t leave that project in midway because I didn’t want to be branded as unprofessional. I was very upset for doing such a bad film.

Arya 2
A still of mine came in Times of India during that time. Allu Arjun saw my photo in Times of India and recommended me to the director Sukumar for an important role in Arya 2. They were looking for a glamorous girl for the character Shanti. They took around 3 months to confirm me for that role. I feel that Arya 2 is turning point in my career. The way Sukumar shows me in such a way that glamorous does not mean exposing. There is substance to it. Sukumar is one of my favorite film personalities. I would like to thank Allu Arjun for recommending me.

Diary
I signed Diary – a sequel of Mantra. Diary is a psychological thriller like Mantra. The entire team of Mantra is repeated except for the director and the heroine. I don't wear any make-up in this movie. My character transforms from a timid girl to a daring girl who scares you. There are various shades and variations in that character from the beginning to end.

Adhineta
In Adhineta film, I did the role of a village belle. It is a regular commercial heroine character. I did this character to satisfy myself that I could also do masala heroine role.

Five films happened in a gap of six months

You lost 18 kgs after Target film. How did it happen?
I was 68 when I did Target and I am 50 kgs now. I reduced weight because I have been working continuously for the past six months. I also learnt martial arts (kickboxing, taekwondo, sword fighting and karate) from Kaushal – Moses (who worked for Abbas Mastan films).

I drink boiling water (mostly Green Tea) all the time. I am very particular about my diet. I avoid eating carbohydrates during night. I eat only proteins (egg whites and soya panneer) in the night.

What do you want to see yourself as in future?
I am not here just like any other Bombay girl. I am not here for money. I am here to stay. I want to become the number one heroine of Telugu film industry. I will surely attain that position one day. I am learning Telugu language and keeping myself updated about happenings in Telugu film industry all the time. Even in my dreams, I think about my profession. I want to work with all the best actors and the best directors.

Why are you so passionate about acting in Telugu film and pursuing career here?
I am always passionate and dedicated about whatever I do. I want to be perfect. I want to act in all kind of roles. I want portray all emotions on screen. In Telugu film industry, everything works on the basis of merit. I love this place. I have a drive to prove myself as best actress. I want to call Hyderabad my first home and Mumbai my second home.

Who are your role models?
I like the way Sushmita Sen carries herself. I want to be like her – beauty with brains. I also like Priyanka Chopra and Rani Mukherjee for the way they fought their way up.

What are your dream roles?
I want to see myself doing Fashion, Black, Jab We Met and Kill Bill kind of roles

What kind of films do you like?
I love romantic comedies and horror flicks.

What are your hobbies?
Swimming and watching Telugu TV channels to learn Telugu. I also read lots of books on positive thinking.

What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Hyper sensitivity is both my strength and weakness. It’s my strength because acting comes easy to hyper sensitive people. I can cry without using glycerin in emotional scenes. It is my weakness because hyper sensitivity is not a healthy trait.

Tell us about family?
I have a younger brother who studies in college. My parents are proud about the way I handle myself. My brother is jealous because my father gives partial treatment to me. My parents are my worst critics.

What are your favorite restaurants in Mumbai?
I love Thai food and I like to go to Thai Ban when in Mumbai. I also like Bombay Blue that serves Mexican food.

Do you have a boy friend?
I have decided to marry a guy of my father’s choice. May be after 10 years, I will get married. I believe in arranged marriage. I feel that love marriage is not possible in the profession I am in. That is why you will never hear me linked up to any actor.

Why is it so?
My entire atmosphere is surrounded by film people. And the relationships are plastic and temporary in film industry. I am extremely bad at judging people. If I fall in love here, he will end up being a bad person. I trust the judgment of my parents

Manoj Manchu

Manoj Manchu’s life is changed after the release of Nenu Meeku Telusa. He got recognized as a different actor who doesn’t give a damn to the stereotypical characters and routine filmmakers. He has a series of different films lined up. Prayanam - his latest film in Chandra Sekhar Yeleti combination will be releasing this month. Here are the excerpts of our latest interview with Manoj Manchu


How is life after Nenu Meeku Telusa (NMT)?
NMT changed my life. I did films which I personally never liked in the past. NMT is a project of my choice. I bagged lots of exciting projects because of my performance in NMT.

How did you get Prayanam film?
I had been a great fan of Krishna Vamsi, Gangaraju Gunnam and Chandra Sekhar Yeleti. I got to know about the story line of Prayanam through Ajay Sastri who is a buddy of Chandu. I approached Chandu and asked him to consider me. He said that I was not considered as he felt that I was a commercial hero. He took me in and that’s how Prayanam happened.

Tell us about the character you play in this movie?
I am doing the role of a hyper-active kid who is into traveling. It is a weird characterization. I didn’t wear make-up in the episodes that took place in Malaysian airport. It is a neatly crafted character and the credit must go to the director.

What is your observation on the director Chandra Sekhar Yeleti?
He got the script ready and characterizations perfect much before the start of the shoot. He explained my character and asked me to come with my own interpretations. I went to him with 4 variations and he picked up one. I used method acting in this movie. He used to conduct 2 hour workshop every day throughout the shoot. In that workshop, all of us used to practice our lines and do rehearsals for the next day’s shoot.

What was the biggest challenge for you in Prayanam?
The story of the movie happens for 2 hours and it took 40 days to shoot the film. The physical appearance should change in a gap of 40 days, but we have to make sure that continuity is intact as story happens in 2 hours duration. It was a challenging job to have perfect continuity.

We used to start from our dugouts at 6:30 am and used to get back by 9 pm. It was a hectic schedule. I felt home sick. My father made a surprise visit and stayed with me for 4 days. My sister also came and accompanied me for a couple of days.

Tell us about other technical departments of Prayanam?
Music by Mahesh is going to be highlight. He gave meaningful music and terrific background score for the movie. Prayanam movie will be like a musical poetry as the music is integrated at the script level. I also loved the camera work by Sarvesh Murari. He will be working for my next project with Veera Potla as well.

I would like to give a special mention about the executive producer Sudheer who did an amazingly responsible and honest job. He worked really hard. And I loved all the members of the direction department and they are going to rock when they come out and make movies independently. I would love to work in any of their future projects.

How did you manage food in your 40-days stay in Malaysia?
We frequent KFC and MdDonald’s for food in airport. I used to crave for biryani, but they make it with dry fish (endu chepalu) or dry prawns (endu royyalu) in Malaysia. Food was a major problem for me out there.

Lots of Telugu summer releases are shot in Malaysia. Billa, Veedokkade and Mitrudu are already released and Kick and other films are due for the release. Don’t you think locations in Prayanam will be stale by the release time?
Most of the movie takes place in the airport. We went to Malaysia only because we got the permission from the airport authorities for such an extensive shoot. Our intentions were never to show Malaysian locations. Hence there is no competition regarding that aspect. We shot the film in Malaysia as the story demands it.