Jiiva and Dhanush are very supportive of newcomers

On Jiiva? Jiiva is my second Tamil hero. The similarity between Jiiva and Dhanush is their professionalism. They come on sets punctually and have no starry airs. It was nice working with an experienced actor like Jiiva. He used to help a lot in calming me down when I struggle with my Tamil dialogues as I have lengthy dialogues in VV. He was indeed a good support for me in VV.

How comfortable are you with Tamil now? I am fairly ok now. I can understand the dialogues if you write and give it to me as I know most of the common words that we use in our daily life. But when people speak fast, I find it difficult to understand. When you give my lines in writing, it is easier for me to learn now. I speak 10 times more in VV than in Aadukalam.

I speak 10 times more in VV than in Aadukalam

Kannan is my very big support

On director Kannan? VV is my 7th project including Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. Kannan is the first director that I have come across in my career who gives equal importance to woman in his films. In south Indian cinemas, heroes are generally highlighted. But Kannan has given preference to me in scenes, dialogues and everything. This has been a motivating factor for me to work harder. Kannan is my very big support. Whenever I complain about tough dialogues, he would always say ‘no problem, take your time’. Similarly, he will be the first one to appreciate me when I perform well and he believed in my capacity. I am really happy to have worked with Kannan.

Which scene in Vandaan Vendraan was the toughest?

Most of my scenes in VV were tough, mainly because of my dialogues. After Aadukalam, where I spoke only a few sentences, VV was difficult as I had pages and pages of dialogues and I had to do this walking and talking in the hot Sun, in bridges and everywhere.

I recall one scene in VV which was shot in Kerala in the rains. I wear contact lenses and when water gets into my lenses, I cannot see. So, in this shot, I had to do multitasking- speak lengthy dialogues, shout at the hero and get my expressions right. To top it all, there was breeze which made me cold and the rains were making my contacts come out. This was very tough for me. But when the crew applauded me saying that it was my best shot, I felt my trouble was worth it.

On your dancing skills?

In Aadukalam, people did not see me dance but in Andhra, I am known as a good dancer. In VV you will see me dance. I am a trained Kathak dancer and have been learning the dance form for 8 years. I was also in Shiamak Davar group for 4 years. It is easier for me to dance as I know both Indian and western dance moves. So I can pick up dance moves very fast as I love dancing and I have also been doing stage shows since I was a child.

Songs in Vandaan Vendraan Songs in VV are the highlight of the movie. All the songs are superb and I am very lucky to get a good intro number in my second film itself. I hope it becomes a bigger hit than Yathe Yathe because it is picturized only on me. Thaman has rendered a fantastic album. And I am sure VV is going to be as successful as Aadukalam or even bigger than that.

Music in Vandaan Vendraan will be a bigger hit than Aadukalam

Upcoming projects in Tamil

In Tamil, since my first film Aadukalam and my 2nd Vandaan Vendraan have set the bar high for me, I am very careful in choosing scripts and have not finalized on anything as of now. I am listening to scripts and will decide soon.

What about Telugu projects?

Two of my Telugu films have been released till now and my third film Mr. Perfect with Prabhas will be releasing in April beginning and in May, Veera with Ravi Teja will come out. I will be signing a Telugu film soon. In Malayalam, I have just finished a film with Mammotty and Nadhiya called Doubles which will be released in April.

Santhanam

I have seen him on screen in SMS and BEB and I love the way he delivers the dialogues which makes me laugh although I don’t understand what he is saying. I have not met Santhanam and we don’t have any combination scenes in VV. I have heard that his chemistry with Jiiva will be superb and hope it works out well in VV too.

They asked me to dip my head into water

Any unforgettable incident in VV? One special thing about VV is that whenever I come back from the shoots of the film, I lose a few kilos. We have been to remote parts of Kerala, Badami, Mumbai, Goa and many places. So everyone was amused that I kept losing weight whenever I return from a schedule of VV.

In one of the schedules, I had to enter water falls and I am very scared of getting into water and they asked me to dip my head into the water. I don’t know how to swim and this particular scene required me to be in a happy mood which was very challenging for me when actually I was so scared from inside.

Another memorable incident is that I got to ride a racer bike for one of the songs and I enjoyed it much. Although it does not go with the theme of the movie, the director saw me wanting to drive the bike and gave me a chance to ride it.

What are the movies that you saw recently? Recently I was seeing Jiiva’s Siva Manasula Sakthi but could not complete it as it was late night and I had to get up early for next day’s shooting. I make sure that I see the films of those artists that I work with as it helps me understand about their performance much better. Even for Dhanush, I saw Polladhavan, his second film with Sonia Agarwal (Kaadhal Kondein). I went to theatre to watch Raktha Charithra as I am a huge fan of Suriya even before I came into Tamil industry. As a north Indian, we only know Suriya as someone who did the Tamil Ghajini and I never imagined that I would one day be working in the same industry as Suriya. I make it a point to see Suriya’s films in theatres.

I make it a point to see all Suriya’s films in theatres

Suriya is the only hottest person in the industry

Who do you find HOT in the industry? Suriya is the only hottest person in the industry. I also find many similarities between Dhanush and Jiiva. Both are in the same age group; are extremely professional; are married with kid(s). They are not talkative but when you talk to them they respond and they don’t ignore you. Jiiva and Dhanush are very supportive of newcomers.

Your favorite hero?

By now, you must have guessed that my favorite hero in Tamil is Suriya. Of course there is the super star and Kamal Haasan and I have met them also. But no offense to them, Suriya remains my favorite.

Favorite heroine?

Not only in Tamil but in all the south Indian languages, Priya Mani is my favorite actress. She knows all the languages and she is such a wonderful, natural actor on screen. She delivers an effortless performance which is natural and spontaneous. Others might say the usual common names but I like Priya Mani.