Thursday, March 08, 2007

I want to be an artist who can fit into any role, says Priyamani


Priyamani started her career with a Bharathiraaja film and proved her mettle in a Balu Mahendra movie. Now director Ameer has utilised her acting calibre to the maximum in `Paruthiveeran'.
Priyamani talks about herself and about audience reactions to her recent film and of course, her future plans.
I started off as a model. In May 2002, I was selected for Bharathiraaja's "Kanngalal Kaithu Sei", which was filmed in Sri Lanka. I was supposed to have done a film earlier for director Fazil. But it did not work out.
The minute people knew I was doing Bharathiraaja's film, they enquired as to who I was and my name. Many felt that the director would change my name and re-christen me.
I was thinking of several other names starting with `R', as with all Bharathiraja's heroines. I zeroed in on `Rithika'. Despite my reminding the director several times, he did not change my name. He just combined my name and surname — Priya Mani — and re-christened me Priyamani.
Till now I have acted in only seven films — four in Tamil, two in Malayalam and one in Telugu. Now I am working in two Telugu films.
I am waiting for good scripts with substance in Tamil. I want to be an artist who can fit into any role.
When my gurus Bharathiraaja and Balu Mahendra saw "Paruthiveeran" they told me that I have grown leaps and bounds as an actor. I consider that my biggest award.
"Paruthiveeran" is a hit and it speaks for itself. I went to the theatre to see the reaction of the audience. It looked as if they liked each and every frame, particularly the climax.
It is wonderful that people are seeing my film and appreciating my talent.
I have a big list of favourite stars. It includes, among others, Vikram, Vijay, Suriya ... But my all-time favourite actor is Kamal Haasan. I like Rajinikanth for his entertaining performance. Among women, my favourites remain Sridevi and Kajol.
"Paruthiveeran"... the entire film was an unforgettable experience. We were shooting for nearly 160 days with natural lighting and we would wait for the next day to ensure continuity in shots. Director Ameer felt sorry when I get beaten up in the movie. But it is overwhelming when people applaud after watching the film. I must thank cameraman Ramji, co-star Karthi and the director for their cooperation.
I have been doing only offbeat movies. I want to do a full commercial film like other actors.

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