When the news about Catherine Tresa being roped in for director Teja’s political thriller Nene Raju Nene Mantri trickled in, there were speculations that she’s been cast as a politician. Perhaps it had to do with having seen her as a MLA in Sarrainodu . When we broach the topic with Catherine, she clears the air, “I am not playing a politician. We’ve been busy working on the film and not talking much about it, wanting to wait till the promotion stage. Since there wasn’t much information coming in, it was natural for people to speculate.”
Catherine affirms that she plays a media baron, “She’s a powerful woman. I liked the character, its disposition and demeanour.”
Teja may not have had a box office hit for a while now, but Catherine is emphatic that it didn’t bother her, “Every actor and director goes through ups and downs and I feel it’s not to right to judge them.” The film also stars Rana Daggubati and Kajal Aggarwal and Catherine is all praises for Rana’s choice of projects. “He’s in an interesting space, choosing unique projects. I loved Ghazi and this film will be a worthy follow up to his earlier work,” she says.
Full-fledged political films aren’t common in Telugu and Catherine is confident Nene Raju Nene Mantri will stand out from the crowd. “When I hear a story, I think about it from the point of view of the audience. Teja gave me a fabulous narration and I found my character extremely interesting,” she says.
Through the course of conversation, while talking about her choices in Tamil and Telugu, Catherine mentions, “I like clarity in what I do.” That clarity comes across when she talks about why she’d gladly be a part of hard-hitting films like Madras (Tamil) or feel at ease in a masala outing like Sarrainodu . “I don’t like to stagnate. I’d get bored doing similar films. Luckily, I’ve managed not to get slotted,” she says.
Her line up in Telugu includes director Sampath Nandi’s Gautham Nanda co-starring Gopichand. While she lauds Gopichand’s stylish makeover, she refrains from discussing the film. All we learn is she will be dubbing in Telugu. “I am comfortable speaking in Telugu. I can understand Tamil as well, but I am slower in my response,” she says.
Meanwhile, the trailer of her forthcoming Tamil film Kadamban has all the markers of steering clear of mainstream prototypes. Shot extensively in forest regions of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, the film has her playing a tribal girl. This, she says, will see her in a completely different look from her other forthcoming release, Kathanayagan (Tamil) with Vishnu Vishal. “These films will release in a short gap of each other and it’s going to be fun since I look so different,” she laughs. Catherine doesn’t shy away from experimenting with the way she looks on screen. The understated elegance of Kalaiarasi ( Madras ) is different from that of the MLA in Sarrainodu . “In whatever part I play, I try and look appealing. The appeal doesn’t come from makeup and western clothes. As Kalaiarasi, I wore no makeup. It would take me 15 minutes to get ready,” she quips.
In contrast, we’ll see her in her glamorous best in a special song in Boyapati Srinu’s next film. “It’s a one-off thing,” she says. “I have a great rapport with Boyapati sir and have the highest regards for him since he cast me in Sarrainodu . It’s an energetic song and I had a blast dancing to it.” Catherine learnt Bharatanatyam and continues to take lessons in ballet. “It doesn’t matter whether I’m in Hyderabad, Chennai or abroad. I love to dance and I learn wherever I go,” she signs off.
