It’s a film that celebrates food and unlikely love. And when Prakash Raj announced that he’s remaking the Malayalam smash hit Salt N’ Pepper with him and Sneha in the lead, many smiled. For, she’s one of the few actresses who can pull off a role that calls for a lot of dignity and a sense of humour.
Un Samayal Araiyil is all set for release soon and Sneha says she’s incredibly happy with the end product. “It marked the coming together of a great team. Plus, there’s Ilaiyaraaja Sir’s music. What else do you need?” she asks.
Prakash Raj, the director, was strict on the sets, but shooting was so much fun. “It never felt like work,” she says. “He’d planned the shoot so well that even though it was a trilingual (Tamil, Telugu and Kannada) and every scene had to be shot thrice, we would wrap up well before schedule.
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The actors were also in a happy mood because of comfortable shooting schedules. “We never had to rush out of bed and on to the sets; we had time to wake up, work out, have a leisurely breakfast… we were in a good frame of mind when we reached the sets. We would eat lunch together and hang out together. In fact, Prakash Raj Sir would feed us all delicious lunches; I had to opt out, because I was putting on weight at a furious pace,” she laughs.
Remember the crispy, golden paniyaaram that featured in the trailer? They were made especially by Prakash Raj’s cook. “I ate some during the shoot. I would have finished off a dozen; they were that good.” The film was all about food, and Sneha says the atmosphere on the sets rubbed off on her in real life too. “I now bake. A lot. I enjoy the process of cooking,” she says. This is her second film after her marriage to actor Prasanna; the first was the poignant Haridas where she played a school teacher. But Sneha says that only now has she made peace with her run in the industry. “For many years, I kept wondering why the roles were not coming in, why my performance was never counted. Sometimes, I felt I should have looked at just the money and not the role,” she says. After years of confusion, she gained clarity. “I decided to listen to my heart and not worry about anything else. Now, I am much happier.” When free, Sneha and Prasanna head to the cinemas. “You can find us at Sathyam ever so often. We love watching movies and discussing them… that’s our life.”