Priyanka Upendra has conquered the hearts of not just Bengalis, but also Kannadigas. The actor found her footing in the South Indian film industry and chose films that did not typecast her. The Bengali beauty started off with Bengali films and went on to act in films in other languages such as Mujhe Meri Biwi Se Bachao (Hindi) , H2O, Rowdy Aliya (Kannada), Jananam (Tamil) and Chinnari (Telugu).
Priyanka went that extra mile to learn Kannada and embraced the culture too, which not only swept the localites off their feet, but also actor/director Upendra. After Priyanka’s marriage to Upendra, films took a back seat. She however, continued to choose women-oriented subjects and was seen in films such as – Uppi 2, Mummy and Priyanka.
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Talking of how she became a multi-lingual artiste, Priyanka says, “I was working in Bengali cinema and doors opened gradually. It was a natural transition. I moved from Kolkata to Mumbai and acted in Hindi films and then forayed into the south. Initially, I worked more in Bengali and Tamil films,” says Priyanka. She enjoys acting as “you get to play characters that you only get to imagine”.
The only handicap for her working in the south was the language. “I found it hard to speak Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. Hindi, however, was easy as Bengali is my mother tongue. I had to work doubly hard to understand the language. There was also a lot of dancing in Tamil films, which I had to pick up fast,” she laughs.
On the advantages of being a multi-lingual artiste, Priyanka says, “Every place has its language, work culture and style. You get to learn so much by just working with people.”
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Now she speaks fluent Kannada and yet hesitates to dub for her films. “I still have a distinct accent. The South is particular about the pronunciations and diction. However, I do hope to dub for Howrah Bridge.”
Priyanka is all geared up for her next film Second Half, where she plays a police constable. “I had never played a police inspector or a constable and I drive a Luna throughout the film. I am excited. The film is almost complete and may release any time in December.”
Priyanka is also thrilled about her thriller Howrah Bridge, for which she just completed a major chunk of shooting in Kolkata. “It is a content-driven story. I did not want to repeat myself with horror after Mummy. I have been dabbling with different subjects for I want to give the audience something new with every film that I take up,” says Priyanka, who adds that she has been lucky as “I am in a good space as cinema is so open today. Women oriented-content-driven films are doing well, so why not go for it?”
Howrah Bridge will also be a bilingual. It will be released in Kannada and Tamil. “Bilinguals give you an added edge. It is nice when a film will have a larger audience. Some subjects are universal and can be seen by people from different cultures. Howrah Bridge is also planned to be dubbed in Bengali as we used a lot of Bengali actors and crew.”
She talks about the changing scenario in the Kannada film industry. “That has happened because of the social media. Films are marketed differently today. Most actors reach out to their fans digitally. Our industry is going through a good phase. There is new blood, themes, talents and ideas going around. At one point it was the typical mainstream film, but now people are not following a specified pattern anymore. They are relying more on content. That is good for any industry.”
Priyanka who started FIRE (Film Industry for Rights and Equality) – a government-certified organisation that fights abuse in the film industry. “It was started to ensure a healthy working environment for all members of the Kannada film industry. It was conceived by actor Chetan of Aadinagalu fame. We wanted do something for children and women working in the industry. We thought of adding three kinds of people into FIRE -- WWW (women, writers and workers). These are the three areas that need to be cared for and that is how FIRE came into being,” explains Priyanka, who is the president, Kavitha Lankesh the vice president, Chetan the secretary and Rekha Kashyap the treasurer. The committee also has Harini and Bharati Vishnuvarhdan.
“We are still setting up the functionality, so we haven’t yet had an official launch. But it is there and was registered this year. Many have approached us for help. “Most are not aware of what sexual harassment is. This sometimes happens so subtly in the film industry. You are asked to wear clothes you may not be comfortable in or be asked behave in a certain manner. If such people know they have a group behind them, they can go ahead and work boldly and also voice their opinion if they are uncomfortable,” assures Priyanka.