Andala Rakshasi star Lavanya on a roll

Lavanya Tripathi is ready for 2016 after a refreshing New Year’s break in Goa. “I got a few days’ break for the New Year and I celebrated in Goa with my school friends,” says Lavanya, adding, “We had a lovely time, though there was one incident we wont forget. We had borrowed two scooters. After a party we came out in the morning and found that one of them had been stolen,” says the actress, adding, “It happened on New Year’s Day.”

The actress is currently enjoying her best phase in Tollywood as her earlier film Bhale Bhale Mogadivoy was a huge hit. She is now looking forward to her upcoming projects. “I am playing Sitha opposite Nagarjuna Sir in Soggade Chinni Nayana,” she says. “When the director narrated the story to me and said that I would have to play a married woman, I was initially in a dilemma… but I told myself that I was an actress and I had to do all characters. More than that, Nagarjuna Sir is a big superstar and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity.”

The actress also put on some weight for the character and looks completely traditional. “I have to look mature and elderly, that’s why I put on weight,” she says. She wears saris throughout the film. “Though I love saris, I had to do a bit of homework as I don’t wear it regularly,” says the actress.

She adds that while being a big star, Nagarjuna is very down-to-earth. “He made me feel comfortable and treated me like a family member,” she says.

Talking about Ramya Krishna, who’s also a part of the cast, Lavanya says, “She always encouraged me and advised me about my acting and diction. I never felt like that I was acting with Ramya Krishna, the fabulous actress of South India. We would be like friends working together,” says Lavanya.

When pointed out that some of the actresses just say numbers instead of dialogues, which makes other actors uncomfortable, she says, “I do not. I always write the dialogues and then practice in Telugu. Even for my first film too I said all the dialogues in Telugu,” says Lavanya.

The Sankranti race is always between the lead actors and the actresses are not taken seriously. Lavanya says, “I agree that it is always hero-dominated but the actresses too are important,” she says, adding that if big stars like Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu or Allu Arjun are in the film then it revolves around them. “But when it is a small film then the female actress is important,” she says.

Lachindeviki O Luckundi, opposite Allu Sirish, is her next, which will release by the end of the month.“After these films I want to take a small break and then come back for my new film,” says the actress. “I would like to open an acting school in my native city Dehradun. There are a lot of actors coming from there,” she concludes.