This beauty, who has a zen-like aura about her, hardly visits Chennai. But, when she does, she creates a huge stir with her striking presence and pleasant demeanour. The former yoga exponent-turned-actress Anushka Shetty, who was in the city to promote her upcoming flick 'Irandaam Ulagam' in Tamil and 'Varna' in Telugu, was the cynosure of all eyes. In an exclusive, free-wheeling chat to DC, the dusky babe speaks about how she chose to act in 'IU', a film that is close to her heart, her free-spirited dual role of Varna and Ramya, the bond she shares with Selva, missing out a Rajinikanth film, marriage plans, onscreen chemistry with Arya and more.
'IU' is close to my heart:
Even as Selva narrated the script, I knew it was a dream role. Any actress would vie to do it and I was no different. Selva’s visuals are extraordinary and he has taken them beautifully. 'IU' is close to my heart and I am looking forward to its release.
Chemistry with Arya:
I guess chemistry comes only on-screen. And again it depends upon the script. Yes, since 'IU' is a romantic subject, our chemistry ought to be great! Everyone says Arya’s mom cooks superb biryani. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to taste it this time around. Hopefully, next Eid.
Selva extracts the best:
If you ask me whether Selva is a tough taskmaster, I would say he does it only to extract the best out of us. Sometimes, we as actors need to tune up to the director’s thinking which will give that extra mileage to the film.
A Script is a script:
I don’t want to look at cinema as hero or heroine oriented. It is just that Arundhathi came my way. At the end of the day, a script is a script. That is all that matters to me.
Arya: A heroine’s hero:
I would 100 per cent agree that Arya is a heroine’s hero. He is very comfortable to work with — hassle free and a friendly person as a costar. In one word, he can be described as ‘easy’.
Mr.Right? Not yet:
When I came to the industry itself, I was married off by gossip mongers. But I have not found ‘the one’ yet. Who knows, it could be a love marriage! But I can’t have expectations like that he should be taller than me, fairer or any such thing…then I won’t get married at all! (Laughs).
I am not typecast for woman centric roles:
I signed 'Arundhathi' as my fourth movie when I was doing 'Vikramarkudu'. But it was released as my 15th film. Now, I have completed 31 films. Other than 'Vedham' in Telugu ('Vaanam' in Tamil) and now 'Rudhramadevi' and 'Bahubali', I have done a variety of roles. It is just that these movies have stood out. I want to thank Shyamprasad Reddygaru, the makers of 'Arundhathi'. I don’t think I am typecast; I am blessed to have got different roles. I have done a lot of glamourous characters in Telugu. I will do it in future as well. After 'Arundhathi', I immediately did 'Billa' which was a dire contrast. Then there was 'Panshakshari' and 'Singham'. I am happy that good opportunities are coming my way. But, I will never do an 'Arundhathi' again.
Being a tall heroine:?
It is just me! There’s nothing I can do about it now! We have crossed those stages in cinema. There’s so much technology these days. 'Singham' itself proved it. It was such a blockbuster! I think all these factors matter only when you give a bad movie. I always listen to the script as an audience. I try and create a balance between commercial films and films where you have much more to do in terms of your role. It is very funny, that this is a question I’ve heard only from the film circle. If you take Hollywood there’s no such thing as height differences. Only here we have this 16 year old, 20 year old, young bubbly, tall, short. We don’t consider cinema as a whole.
Not keen on Bollywood:
Initially, there was an offer to do 'Singham' in Hindi. It didn’t happen due to some personal reasons. Other than that I didn’t get anything interesting. I am not pushy by nature. It depends on each one’s personality and what they want to do. For me, only, during the promotions can you see me here. Only work matters. Even in Hyderabad, I finish my work and I am home.
Friends in the industry?
I have a lot of yoga friends. I don’t get much time to spend with them. Bharath’s wife Bhumika, the whole of Nag’s family — they are the one who launched me in cinema. Suriya, Karthi and Vijay and his family are all my friends.
I’d Love to work with Rajinigaru:
Yes, I was supposed to work with him during the initial stages of Rana. When the talks were happening, I was shooting and couldn’t give dates. I will always regret it. Given a chance, I would love do a film with Rajini sir. He is such a wonderful human being and I would like to get to know him as a person.
Want to learn from Rajinigaru to be humble:
I am not too much of a cinema person and I didn’t grow up watching movies. Even now, I don’t watch too many movies. I interact with people for the people they are. I know Rajini sir’s family. For his stature, he comes across as a grounded human being and that’s something I would want to learn from him — how to be humble.
Not a time travel story:
The film is about two parallel worlds — two characters in one world and two characters in another world. I am a doctor called Ramya in this world and Varna, a free spirited person in the other.
When Selva called her Chelli:
It was really heartwarming. We share a great rapport. His wife Geethanjali, his father-in-law and I spent close to 90 days in Georgia. They are like my extended family.
Selva Speaks
During the initial discussions of 'Irandaam Ulagam', the producers were convinced that my script would not materialise onscreen as a movie. However, I am extremely happy that they kept the faith and helped translate the film beautifully into the motion picture format. 'Irandaam Ulagam' signifies another world — a parallel world. Even today, scientists believe that there are many worlds apart from ours and we all exist in parallel universes. I was merely trying to translate that into my film. The film belongs to the fantasy genre. Both my actors, Arya and Anushka were pillars of support.
The entire effort has been carried out to entertain the audience and we are hoping it would pay off. I never make a film with the expectation that it would do well. It is to entertain the audience. They come to watch a film expecting something new always and I merely try to deliver that to them. Audience perceptions have changed drastically today. It is easy to film a fairytale — it is uncomplicated. If you ask me about the challenges in the film — the way it will be conceived by the audience is going to be the challenge. We have narrated the film in a way that the audience does not feel alienated. Technical challenges were few as VFX is only a part of the film. IU is not driven by CG or VFX.
‘I have never felt trapped’
When Selva sir narrated the script of 'Irandaam Ulagam' to me, I wondered how he would translate such a grand vision on screen. I sincerely doubted if he could pull it off. But kudos to the dedicated effort of the entire team in being able to make the film on such a grand scale. I am sure it is going to be a visual treat for the audience. It is definitely a landmark film in my career — I haven’t worked on anything like this before. On the sets too, it did not feel like work at all, especially when we shot in Georgia. The whole unit was like one big happy family. Normally, when we shoot, after a period of say 30 or 35 days, we tend to get a little homesick. However we had a 90 day shoot in Georgia and it went by like a breeze. People sometimes ask me if I have ever felt trapped in a film — especially since some of my films have taken a long time to release. However, I would like to clarify that I have never felt that way. More than mine, it is the director’s vision and once I have committed to something I always stick it out till the end. With Irandaam Ulagam, I am sure many actors would have been eager to play the part, but I am thrilled that the role came to me. I will always be grateful to Selva for that.
— With inputs from Nandita Ravi
