Pavithra Lokesh is seen having a chat with director Vasu Verma and cinematographer Chota K Naidu on the sets of Krishnashtami . Fresh and active, she is being flooded with offers after her recent success at the box office.
Pavithra became popular after Race Gurram, Heart Attack, Pataas, Temper, Malli Malli Rani Roju ... She says, “I haven't done any small roles as such, they were all important. Our films are all male-dominated, I have accepted it and I feel it is absolutely fine.”
Girish Kasaravalli's ten years old film award wining Kannada Naayi Neralu film, was aired on Doordarshan recently, had her playing a widow who gets into a relationship with a young man. Pavitra got a best actress award for that role. “I come from a family of actors: father, brother, husband. Girish Kasaravalli has a vast impressive repertoire, and I even was ready to tonsure my head for that role. Doing such films grinds and sharpen your skills. Commercial films are necessary to live, in Telugu all films are commercial. If I want to do any parallel cinema it happens in Kannada. I am happy with both as the first one gets me good money and success and the latter is food for thought.”
She adds, “I can show my talent and what I am capable of only when offered a range of roles and subjects. Here I have been confined to melodrama but in Kannada, I was offered all kinds of roles, of vamp, heroine, etc. However the happiest and most exciting moment was working with Girish Kasaravalli, he is next to Adoor Gopalakrishnan. Even if I frown, he would ask why I am doing it, very demanding and I learnt a lot from him.”
Well read with a double post graduate, Pavithra says life for her personally has been good.
“Being an actor has its advantages, there is a time frame, you wrap up the work and get into a different set up with different people for a new story. I have a three year old son, he is accommodative and we are getting him used to it.” She adds “When a lay man gets into an emotional mood he wouldn't know where to cut it off. But an actor can switch on and off; we know where to stop, switch off and find peace, be in peace with ourselves.
“About the future, she avers, “I am always positive and ambitious, I think I can do better roles in future. Tamil, Telugu, Kannada or Malayalam have different kinds of films happening and they all will have to explore with the subjects. Ultimately it is economics that matters. I don't say female oriented films have to come, what matters is the type and content that matters.” she observes.
