Tinsel town is no doubt a very glamorous world and the long queue of aspirants seeking any opportunity to show their talent in films grows longer each day. Any debutante worth her salt knows that a debut is the launch pad that can either make or break an actor. One wrong move could affect their future. Be it a newcomer or an established actor, most women would balk at playing mother roles that could confine them to subsequent typecast roles. But Lakshmipriya had no such qualms when she chose to play the role of the mother of an autistic son in the film Swayam.
She had a very sound reason for taking up the role. “The role is important and very integral to the film’s plot. I have an opportunity to showcase my acting talent through the emotional role and I believe rather than running around trees and being arm candy to the hero, a performance-driven role is any day better! I feel the attitude of female actors has changed and there are many heroines who are open to playing mother roles now. It is a sign of the changing times across every industry!” she says.
The story of Swayam moves through the life of a couple settled in Germany with the husband reluctant to look after the autistic kid and Lakshmipriya’s character becomes the sole caretaker of the child. Explaining more about the character, Lakshmipriya says, “The son has an inclination to play football and I encourage him to pursue that talent.”
Playing the emotion-riddled role was no cakewalk. “It was challenging for me to get the right emotions when my son’s character gets angry. I watched a lot of videos and was also given some training by the crew. I met a speech therapist and a few autistic kids; so there was some homework to be done. The film is based on real life characters so I had to take utmost care in portraying my role.”
Lakshmipriya has worked as a model and she debuted in the Tamil industry through the Kalidas film Oru Pakka Kathai where she plays a character role. She is also doing another Tamil film where she plays the villain’s wife. Talking about the differences between the industries, Lakshmipriya feels that the Tamil industry is professional with dialogues and scripts given beforehand so that the actor gets time to prepare herself. She is happy to work in both the industries and she has already won an award for a short film earlier. She would also like to complete her MBA alongside.
