Shruti Haasan’s pictures with Italian theatre actor Michael Corsale are going viral on the social media, raising the obvious question, ‘Has she finally found the one?’
When DC got in touch with the actress though, she politely replied, “He’s just my friend and that’s about it!”
However, it looks like much more is brewing between them, as Michael was in India recently — to spend Valentine’s Day with Shruti! The two have gotten close since they met in London, not too long ago, a source tells us. On the career front, the actress is seeing happy times — “Singam is a big franchise and to be part of the series was amazing. To top it all, I got appreciated for my performance.”
Out of her two releases in 2016, Premam (Telugu) was subjected to a lot of criticism. “I’ve been saying this ever since the project got launched — Nivin Pauly and Sai Pallavi were absolutely fantastic. I think it was premature to comment on the product (Telugu version) before even seeing it. There was no logic to the criticism, so I didn’t take it seriously. The complaints stopped once people actually watched the film!”
Talking about how dad Kamal Haasan is coping after fracturing his leg and more importantly, his split with Gautami, Shruti proudly says, “Dad is one of the strongest people I know and he’s recovering very well. Nothing really stops him! He has the will power of a Rambo. He is currently in a great state of mind and is concentrating on his work. He is still as passionate as he was about his craft.”
Steering the conversation about her friendship with actress Tamannaah, Shruti explains, “Many years ago, we met in Bombay on and off. I have a lot of respect for the kind of films she has done. I admire her commitment towards work.”
Shruti is now reprising Tamannaah’s role in her Telugu venture, Katamarayadu with Pawan Kalyan. “The funny thing is, we’ve not discussed this even once. I think it slipped from our minds completely. She was fabulous in Veeram, but Katamarayadu has a different approach. Being paired opposite Pawan Kalyan is special. At a very crucial point in my career, I got Gabbar Singh. It was a difficult phase for me and he trusted my potential and offered me the film. Without listening to other people, he said, ‘No, she is right for the part’ and that film really changed my life.”
Of late, the 7 am Arivu actress has been spending a lot of quality time in London, where she has been taking training sessions to improve her craft. “I am training with a wonderful teacher called Leana, who teaches me about understanding body mechanics. Working with her has opened up my mind. Be it any language, stories are human and the more you can connect to the feeling of being human, the more you can perform effectively. As a musician and actor, this is one more step in expanding my horizon,” she elaborates.
Shruti is also kicked about the idea of working in a film with her sister Akshara. On an excited note, she says, “I would love to do a comedy with Akshu and what people don’t know about us is that we are at our funniest when we are together. There’s nothing crazier than when two sisters decide to have fun.”
With back to back films, is she missing being a musician? — “I am making a genuine effort to do more music, because last year was very difficult. I’ve started the year with exciting collaborations and I am hoping to continue that. Recently, I gave a live performance and I had a nice time working with wonderful musicians. I’d definitely look forward to more such performances.”
Currently, she is gearing up for her next big project, Jayam Ravi and Arya starrer Sangamithra, which is a Tamil–Telugu bilingual directed by Sundar C. “It is a very challenging role and I will be working extremely hard. I love challenges and succeeding at it and Sangamithra is one such film. It requires a lot of preparation, commitment and time and I am really pumped up about it,” she concludes.
