Riya Suman is not a newcomer. She has worked in Nani-starrer Majnu directed by Virinchi Verma and audience knew her then as Priya Shri. On the eve of the release of Paper Boy , Riya says she has decided to go with her original name. “There were many people with the name Priya Shri and when people got to know my real name they started addressing me as Riya. I thought I better go with it,” she says. About her venturing into Telugu films, she says, “I did Majnu when I was in college. It was a random decision to do a south Indian film. I wanted to do more films but since I was in the third year of college I couldn’t take up any out door activity or film. It was too much of a distraction. But once the film got over I began auditioning again and I got Paper Boy .”
Riya Suman in ‘Paperboy’
A Mumbai girl, Riya says she had no clue about who’s who of the Telugu film industry before doing Majnu . It is only after she signed Majnu she got to know the buzz about Nani and how big an actor he is. She recalls the success of the film fondly, “Majnu was a blockbuster and it released in the rains. Because it was a holiday that day there was a good opening. Even now I keep getting compliments on social media for that film.” On her decision to choose acting as her career, Riya says, “I did bachelors in management studies. I didn’t want to leave it in between. I did drama and theatre in college in Mumbai and a short stint in an acting institute run by Anupam Kher. I love cinema and acting. I never considered modelling, I can’t walk in heels and do fashion ramps. I just love the way Priyanka Chopra does dancing and action stunts on heels.”
Riya met Sampat Nandi, the producer of paper boy during the pre production level. She had a casual meeting with him and got a call from his office to meet the director and give an audition. They told her the story and the role. While in Majnu , she played a parallel role, in Paper boy she’s the solo lead. This one has much more depth and it is a hard core performance oriented role and has ample opportunity to evolve as an artiste. About her character, she reveals small details, “My character is called Dharani. It is a strong name, she is self assured and wise and has a strong value system. It is a passionate love story woven in a realistic way. It will be a treat to watch because of the visuals and the presentation.” Riya’s impressed with director Jaya Shankarr’s flair for story telling. She says he gives complete freedom to actors improvise and is more of a collaborator. On a parting note Riya says, “We made a good film and I hope audiences surrender to this emotional roller coaster.
