Yet, actress Priyamani is eager to find out how the Tamil audience would welcome Raktha Charithiram.
"Rakht Charitra released in Hindi and Telugu a few weeks ago and the film was critically appreciated. In Andhra Pradesh, it was a huge hit and that's probably because the film is centred around the politics and people in Andhra. Now, I'm waiting to find out how the audience will like the full version, Raktha Charithra," begins an excited Priyamani.
She plays Bhavani, Suriya's love interest, in the film. "Honestly, RC revolves around the equation between Suriya and Vivek. In this film, I support Suriya in whatever decision he takes, counsel him if he has any doubt in himself," she reveals.
Talking about how she landed the role, the actress says, "Ramu ( Ram Gopal Varma) had seen me in Paruthiveeran and thought I would be apt to play Bhavani. When he tried to reach me, I was shooting in Langkawi with Puri (Jagganath sir) for a Telugu film. Ramu and Puri are good friends and he had told Puri sir about the film. When Puri sir told me about Ramu's call, I was really excited. I adjusted my dates for another film to be a part of this film."
Given that the film is based on a real-life incident and revolves around real people, was she apprehensive about signing the movie? "No. I have heard about the assassination ofParitala Ravi. In fact, I was in Hyderabad when the actual incident occurred. But when an actor is essaying a real-life character on screen, he is just doing his job. I have tried to give my 100 per cent to my character," she says.
Priyamani has dubbed for herself in the film. "It took me three hours to complete dubbing and I have tried to bring the local slang in place with my voice," she informs.
Priyamani hasn't signed any Tamil film recently though her hands are full with Telugu and Kannada films. But the actress says she is eager to do more films in Kollywood. "My last release was Raavanan and now, I have RC. I'm more than willing to do a straight Tamil film, but I haven't been offered any solid roles till now. I don't want to do a film here just for the sake of doing one. I want to do films that I will be proud of. I will gladly do another rural-based film like Paruthiveeran because it got me acclaim," she says
On Thursday evening as Priya Mani was shooting with Nagarjuna for her latest Telugu venture in Hyderabad, she was inundated with calls from friends and well-wishers.They were concerned about the report that had appeared about Kangna Ranaut replacing me in Priyan sir’s The Bullet Train. I was surprised when I heard it because I was clueless about the issue. I didn’t even know I was being considered for the film,” explains Priya.
And the reason, she says, is because she was abroad for a shoot and wasn’t aware that she had been approached for the project. “I wasn’t accessible, so they might have spoken to my manager. I had absolutely no idea about this. So, I really don’t know what exactly transpired, and that Kangna had replaced me,” she says. In fact, Priya isn’t sure if the reports are true. “Since nobody spoke to me directly about being cast in the film, I haven’t got a call from anyone informing me that I’m not part of the project anymore,” she tells us.
Just when everybody was raving about south heroines making a splash in B-town, does this incident of a Bollywood lass replacing her make Priya feel let down? “I don’t think that just because we’re from the south, we’re less talented or glamorous than B-town heroines. And no way are we inferior to them.
Who knows, I might get a call from Priyan sir if he feels I suit the role in his next film. I’m glad that he at least considered me for this movie,” she justifies.
The Bangalorean lass now has a Mani Ratnam film, which she has pinned her hopes on — “No, I’m not playing Surpanaka in it” — a biggie Telugu film titled Pravarkyudu — “It’s a performance-oriented role” — and Raam with namma Appu. “Until now, I had my doubts about doing a Kannada film because the market for it is restricted to Karnataka, unlike other regional films. But an offer opposite Puneet Rajkumar in a film directed by Madesh of Gaja fame was like a perfect launch vehicle in Kannada,” says Priya Mani.And she has no regrets that her talent has only found a mention in the media and among critics in recent times. “It’s taken me five years to get here. It’s only after Paruthi Veeran that people started noticing my acting skills. So, I’m happy I found fame after much strugglerather than becoming a superstar in my first film,” explains the actress.
The awards and acclaim that have come her way, she says, have only made her resolve of taking up substantial roles stronger. So, no more bikini acts? “I wore the bikini in Drona for fun. Besides, after Nayanthara in Billa, there was this notion that no other actress would be willing to wear a bikini. But my director felt I’d look good in it. I too was convinced and felt wearing a bikini would be a change from my usual image. It drew its share of reviews — both good and not-so-good ones. I also haven’t got any new offers to wear a bikini,” says a candid Priya.
A bikini act and a kitty full of awards. Will she now hike her price? “There’s nothing wrong in hiking my price. I’ve delivered three consecutive hits, so I think it’s justified. And tell me which actress doesn’t hike her price these days? And I’m only asking for my market value — pay me my price and I’ll do your film,” she asserts.
The National Award-winning actress claims to be essaying a significant role in the Hindi version of Mani Rathnam's Ravann. How was it rubbing shoulders with Abhi-Ash?
“I had to shoot some portions only with Abhishek. It was nice working with such a jovial person. He is quite friendly and talks to even spot-boys on the sets.”
Will this plum project be her Bollywood launchpad? “I don't know really. For me, since this was an offer from Mani Rathnam I just took it up. Any actor can give his/her right hand to work with Mani.” Her next Tollywood film Pravararkudu, says Priyamani “is specially designed for the Gen Next audience. The film tries to explore whether love is just a physical attraction or something beyond it,” she informs.
She’s also one of the few Tamil actresses who is a household name in Tollywood, despite a few duds. Recently, she triggered a debate with her dare-bare act in Drona. “I received a mixed response for my bikini act. But I haven't taken a firm stand on whether I want to do more such scenes at a later date or not,” she affirms.
Despite a bunch of offers, she hasn't any new Telugu film. Is it because she's known to have revised her fees? “I don't think so. My pay packet is reasonable. But I prefer doing films where I have a meaty role. The set-up of the film and the filmmaker also matter to me. For me those are vital issues that help me decide on a film. You never sign a film only for money” she reasons.
Then what’s making her dabble in other language films? The reason, says the sultry beauty queen is simple. “For an actress, the choices are more if one is open to the idea of doing films in different languages. I could even do an Oriya film if the role excites me,” says the multi-lingual actress.
Priyamani seems to be in the mood to experiment. After playing a role with negative shades (Mithrudu) she sounds equally excited about her upcoming Tamil film Ninaithale Innikkum.
On the personal front, her family provides her rock solid support in all her endeavours. “I often chill out with my brother and parents in Bangalore,” she informs. A gadget freak, she gets tips from her brother on the latest mobiles and laptops. “I am truly looking forward to my South Africa trip where I'm shooting with Jagapathi Babu,” she quips. She thinks her seven-year-old film career has been fruitful even as she confesses that being a workaholic means she's so busy with work that she has no time for love.
National award winning actress Priyamani, who debuted in telugu with evera athagadu, took some break and came back with pelliana kothala and later went on to experiment in Tamil and also Malayalam, is the talk of the town in all three languages today and every forthcoming film of hers generates a lot of expectations.She has now been offered a meaty role in Mani Ratnam's big budget bilingual film tentatively titled Ravan starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and Vikram.
When she was asked if she would consider roles in films with more than one heroine, Priyamani's answer was an immediate, "No."The actress, who has firmly rejected all such offers, also said that she will concentrate only on roles that give a lot of importance for her character in the film.
Her latest Telugu film Mitrudu with Balakrishna is released and doing well with mouth talk.
Priyamani is now a hot and bold girl in tollywood. With her bikini act in Drona she got a huge fame and now she is all set to act as second lead in mahesh babu's Varudu. Anushka who got good name through her recent flick Arundati is playing main lead. This flick is beingdirected by Trivikram Srinivas under the banner of Sri Kanaka Ratna Movies being produced by Singamala Ramesh. This will be the mahesh babu's movie after 2 years gap. His last flick athidi released in last quarter of 2007 and varudu may release in last quarter of 2009.
Priyamani made her debut quite a few years back with Evare athagadu but she failed to impress anyone in the film. And after her comback with Pelliana kothalas she never turned back. Now she is turning bold and in the latest film drona she is going to appear hot. For the first time she did bikini act as well as a very sizzling song for Drona which has Nitin as the hero.Currently a rain song is being shot at Ramoji Film City and in the song, priyamani looks very hot according to sources. Priyamani reveals a lot in this wet song. She also shot for a bikiniscene in the film and this last song is much more sizzling than her bikini act. The film is slated to release this month. Lets hope this film will make her even more popular
Dont think of abhishek bachan dud Drona.This ‘Dhrona’ is Nithin’s next along with Priyamani in the lead. A former associate of SS Rajamouli, J. Karuna Kumar is directing this movie thatis being produced by DS Rama Rao. The filming has been completed and now post production work is being done. The story is about young man who saves country from terrorist activities.Nithin plays an action hero with enough scope to bash the baddies. Already realeased priyamani photos got good response from the audience. The makers are planning to release the audio this month, and the movie will be ready for a release during Sankranthi in January. Music for ‘Dhrona’ has been composed by Anoop Roobens.
Balakrishna priyamani movie at rajahmundri
Priyamani has a warm and forgiving nature which many may not know, when she recalled her past she stated that there were times when even she was running in all woods to get a break in the industry and there were a few who rejected her.Today, she is a famous star,national award winner and the same people have been coming to her with offers. Priya says there is no point carrying old grudges so she is happy that they have now recognized her potential and are coming to her.
Priyamani made her debut into the Telugu films with ‘Yevare Athagadu’ as the second heroine. However, the film did not go well and she took a long gap for her next film. Surprisingly, almost all her films which she did later were turned out to big hits. She had started receiving good offers from several top film producers and also bagged a nationalaward for her role in a Tamil film. shehad become very choosy and selecting the stories and the hero before giving her nod to the director or producer. Very recently, she was asked to do a role in a film to be directed by a novice Satya with Srikanth as hero and she refused to play heroine without any inhibition. Hopefully, she was busy with her film opposite Balakrishna. It is worth mentioning here that she played opposite NTR, Kalyanram and now opposite Balakrishna. Priyamani says, she was very happy to work with all nandamuri heros.
Currently Priyamani is ruling the roost with the nation-wide recognition after winning the national award for the best actress category, for her fabulous performance in the Tamil film 'Paruthiveeran'. She has now grabbed the opportunity to be the part of Maniratnam's latest venture that is to be made both in Hindi and Tamil simultaneously. While Abhishek plays the lead man in Hindi and Vikram in Tamil and Aishwarya Rai plays the female lead in both the versions. Priyamani enacts the role of second heroine pairing with Prithviraj, who is said to be playing the negative shade. This project will commence in September. AR Rahman will compose music and PC Sriram for the cinematography.
Speaking Telugu like a native is in these days. Priyamani, the famous Tollywood actress, is Malayali by birth and has grown up in Benguluru. But she speaks Telugu fluently and takes pride in it. This Malayali kutty says, “Since I can speak the language it becomes easy for me to converse with my unit on the sets. I am confident I can do my own dubbing very soon.” However, this trend of learning the language by non-Telugu actors dates back to the 90s when Amrish Puri did his own dubbing for movies. Prakash Rawal, the popular villain has taken a leaf out of Puri’s book and does his dubbing himself.Madhushalini, one of the few Telugu speaking actresses in the industry says, “I think this condescending attitude towards Telugu developed in the younger generation because we were restricted from speaking in Telugu at school. Soon, it became “downmarket”. But that’s changing now.” Madhu confesses that the language is one unifying factor in an industry like Tollywood where talent is outsourced from all parts of the country. “It’s a language we think, speak and even dream in. Thankfully, new age T’wood movies have done their bit in making Telugu cool again.”
Some have learnt it from their colleagues and some by watching Telugu films. Says Nikita, a Punjabi by birth, “Nitin helped me learn the language when we were shooting for Sambaram. I also picked up a lot after watching Telugu movies.”
Out of the blue, Priyamani gets a telegram from director Shankar. The telegram congratulates her for winning the National award for best actress for Paruthiveeran, and praises her performance in it. Now comes the interesting part - at the end of the mail -Shankar signs off suggesting they should meet. Industry insiders are reading this as an offer to play an important role in robot.
Director Ameer’s Paruthiveeran starring Karthi and Priyamani will soon be remade in Telugu. Vishnu, son of the Tollywood actor Mohan Babu has been roped in to play Karthi’s role.Theselection for the rest of the roles is in progress.Paruthiveeran was a movie which received rave reviews and accolades from the industry as well as from the public. Priyamani, who played lead girl in the film recieved national award for her fine performance. The film has been a breakthrough film for all the artistes, including actors playing supporting roles.The director has received a lot of critical acclaim for his unique style of filmmaking.
The film also bagged six Filmfare awards this year.Lets hope this film recieves similar accolades in tollywood also.