Priyamani's first attempt at breaking into Bollywood, Raavan , fizzled out. The actor, who played Abhishek's sister in Mani Ratnam's film, is now all set to play the lead in a film made by another big name — Ram Gopal Varma's Rakht Charitra.
“I've always wanted to work with Ram Gopal Varma. I was in Mumbai when he narrated the script to me, and I just couldn't say no.”
Priyamani plays Suriya's wife in this action adventure. “I play Bhavani, who supports Suri (Suriya) when he makes up his mind to kill Ravi (Vivek Oberoi).”
For a South Indian actor, Priyamani is quite comfortable with Hindi. “I must thank my school teachers who taught me Hindi so well,” she smiles.
However, she is not keen on shifting to Mumbai, particularly after Raavan 's debacle. “I don't know if I will be doing any more films here,” she says.
On the brighter side, for a person who enjoys travelling, she plans to travel to Mumbai if she gets a good offer for a Bollywood film. And, yes, Bollywood does seem an attractive proposition because, actors don't get typecast here, she feels. For instance, she says, Aishwarya Rai, who played Shah Rukh Khan's sister in Josh was cast in a romantic role opposite him in Mohabbatein and Devdas .
Her list of favourite actors includes Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor.
And, Sridevi. “Sridevi's so charismatic, and I love the way she acts. Everything about her is so fantastic.”
Here's a nugget not many know — Priyamani is Vidya Balan's cousin. But, “we haven't had an opportunity to meet in Mumbai,” she says.
bollywood news service