Chat with Priyamani

Thirty films old, Priyamani has dabbled in several languages winning a national award for Tamil film 'Paruthiveeran' and Filmfare Best Actress award for 'Thirakatha in Malayalam. Her Malayalam film 'Pranchiyettan and the saint,' was well received. Recently her Kannada film, 'Eno Onthara,' (a remake of Kushi, the Tamil film) was released. Much awaited is Ram Gopal's trilingual film, 'Rakthacharithram.' Mythily Ramachandran catches up with her on the sets of 'Raaj,' a Telugu film, directed by V.N. Aditya.

On Rakthacharithram

'While I was shooting for Puri Jagannadh's 'Golimaar,' I got a message from Gopal sir asking me to get in touch with him. He told me it's a fifteen day's role. I play Suriya's wife who stands by his decisions and supports him. Ram Gopal sir is a very chilled out guy, free from any tensions. Before every take, he would explain the scenes and guide us, suggesting how to improvise on our acting. As for Suriya, he is extremely dedicated and always in the mood of the character. It was amazing watching him. It inspired me to measure up to his standards.

Working with Mammootty and Khusboo

That was another great experience, to be able to work with two actors I admire. Mammootty often helped me with the pronounciation, besides explaining the meaning of the words. As for Khusboo, she is still so cute and bubbly.

Telugu films

'Raaj,' directed by Aditya is a regular commercial film. I play a young middle class housewife, who seeks happiness in her marriage. There are several twists in the story. My co-actors are Sumanth and Vimala Raman. Sumanth is warm and goes out of his way to make you feel comfortable. Aditya is great fun to work with. Vimala plays the other woman. We bonded well off screen and have become good friends. My other Telugu film, 'Ragada,' an action entertainer, is ready for release. I play a character who is not what she appears to be.

Coming up

On the anvil is a heroine oriented story in Telegu to be directed by Sivaraj Kumar and Vishnuvardhan, a Kannada film by Sudeep. In Tamil there have been offers but the scripts did not impress me.

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Raktha Charithiram

Priya Mani Pictures