When Meenakshi Dixit first met filmmaker Kalyan Krishna after his debut film Soggade Chinni Nayana, starring Nagarjuna, became a smash hit in 2016, he had expressed interest in working with her. At that time, she dismissed it as a mere pleasantry. But five years later, she got a call from the director for an important role in Bangarraju, a sequel to Soggade Chinni Nayana.
“I was thrilled,” says an ecstatic Meenakshi, who is surprised that the filmmaker remembered her. She says the director too is impressed with her work.
Meenakshi feels she couldn’t have wished for a better project to kick-start her post-pandemic work. “The last time I was in Hyderabad was in February 2020, and then the pandemic struck. Being on the film sets gave me a new high and boosted my confidence,” the Dookudu star shares.
The actress declines to give details of her role, but says it’s an important one.
Talking about her preparation for the socio-fantasy drama, Meenakshi says, “I carefully went through the designs and sketches the director gave me for my character. I had several costume trials and my designing team zeroed in on a few designs.”
For the first time, she had to wear heavy jewellery, and that was a challenge, because she’s allergic to ornaments made of non-precious metals, she revealed. Despite having done historical roles earlier, Meenakshi says “Wearing a large set of bangles, payal (anklets), necklace, kamar bandh (waistband), finger rings, etc. was an experience I hadn’t had.”
Talking about her impressions of the director, she says, “Kalyan Krishna garu had a smile throughout on the set, no matter how big a problem we had.” She found working with Nagarjuna an amazing experience.
"I was working with Nag Sir for the first time, and I was initially a little nervous about how to break the ice. But later I realised he’s very chatty. The ambience on the sets has given me hope that the industry is slowly coming out of the pandemic. However we have to continue following Covid protocols," she says.
Meanwhile, the actress is glad that her last release, Maharshi, starring Mahesh Babu, won the National Award earlier this year. She was among those who got the dreaded Covid infection. “I was in Mumbai and had to do everything on my own. My parents were in Lucknow and were very worried, but thankfully, my friends helped me a lot,” she recalls.
