Director Koratala Siva’s Srimanthudu sparked curiosity when it unveiled its trailer showing Mahesh Babu as the affluent Harsha who adopts a village. Actress Tulasi, who plays a boisterous, over-the-top character in the film, says the film is a departure from the regular urban-centric entertainers. “The stories of most films tend to focus on cities. In reality, we are so dependant on villages. I feel this film depicts reality,” she says.
Tulasi was roped in to play Shruti Haasan’s aunt in the film. “I was touched when Siva told me that he had written the character with me in mind. I liked the screenplay and my character. I remember the day when I shot the first scene with this unit. The shooting process started on a high note,” she says.
The actress began her career in Telugu cinema in the 70s and still goes by the moniker ‘Shankarabharanam’ Tulasi. She later shifted focus to Kannada and Tamil films and returned to Telugu cinema with Darling and Trivikram Srinivas’s Julayi .
Srimanthudu has brought her back to Telugu cinema and at a personal level, helped her relive childhood memories. She calls sharing a good rapport with actor Krishna and spending time with his family when she was a young actress, shooting for one of his films. “I spent a lot of time with his daughter Manjula when we were shooting in a village for more than a month. Mahesh was very young at the time. When I first met Mahesh for Srimanthudu , I recalled those days and he was pleasantly surprised to learn of the rapport I shared with his family members,” she says.
Now, working with Mahesh, she praises his casual demeanour. “He is extremely focused on his work but doesn’t get stressed out, which is why he appears casual while enacting even the most intense of scenes,” she says and adds, “Mahesh is a prankster on the sets and keeps his co-stars in good humour.”
Tulasi credits Siva for making a film that showcases reality and Mahesh for going with the director’s vision. Without revealing much about the film’s plot or her character, Tulasi maintains, “I’d say my role is memorable. I play a loud character that sobers down towards the end. I saw my portions during dubbing and felt proud to be a part of the project. I’ve become selective with the work I do and only pick up teams and screenplays that have something special.” She was lauded for her performance as Chellamma in the 2014 Tamil film Pannaiyarum Padminiyum , which is also being remade in Telugu.
After Srimanthudu , she will be seen in the Naga Shaurya starrer Ammayitho O Abbayi .
