She already has a fair idea about the response that the first instalment of Rakht Charitra (RC) garnered at the box office. 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 Charithiram," 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 of Paritala 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.
Yeah, and a National Award too!
Suriya V/S Karthi
Interestingly, Priya Mani has been the co-star in both Karthi and Suriya's debut flicks — Paruthiveeran, Karthi's acting debut and RC, Suriya's Bollywood debut. So, how was it working with the brothers? "Both of them are dedicated, hardworking and willing to learn. Suriya used to keep asking Ramu how he could better his character in the film and tried out different expressions for each scene. Karthi was a rank newcomer then, but he used to stick with Ameer, learning whatever he could from him. Today, I have lost count on how many films Karthi has done after that!"
