Even when I meet people, they start talking to me in Telugu, even though I’m a Kannadiga. But my character in Hello Guru Prema Kosame’ will change that image of mine. You’ll see me as an urban city girl in glamorous clothes.
My mom was the happiest person when I first got a Telugu offer. She told me that the people here love cinema and will also love you. I have to agree with her.
I’m quite fluent in Telugu now, but there’s a difference between talking and dubbing. While dubbing, the diction must be in sync with the emotion in the scene and would impact my performance.
I’ve acted in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu films.
The Telugu industry and their scripts are extremely nice.
‘Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi’ has a very nice subject which I think could be remade into a Hindi film. It was my first film in Telugu for which I got Filmfare Award for the best actress.
I have an impeccable memory, and I can learn dialogues in any language in 20 minutes, including Telugu and Malayalam.
Since my childhood, I have been watching Telugu films. It was always my dream to make it big here.
Having done movies in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi, I have been accepted both in North and down South. I don’t believe in divisions. I like to believe that I am working in the Indian film industry.
I am not really missing theatre as I get to act in films, that too in different languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi, my mother tongue.
Avunu’s stellar run at the BO and the positive response from the audience was such that most scripts coming my way from Telugu have been from the horror genre!
I have been to Tirupathi more than I have ever been to my grandpa’s place. Every Telugu is a Tirupathi guy!
I have worked really hard to reach where I am – I worked hard on my Hindi and diction because I am a Parsi and Hindi is not my strong point, and I’ve also learnt Tamil and Telugu because I want to get my lines right. I want to be known as a performer.
My mother is a Telugu, so I have been familiar with the language since childhood.
It’s been a long and wonderful journey for me but feels like it was just the other day when I started my career in films. I am very grateful to this wonderful Telugu cinema industry and the audience for all the love and unflinching support without which it would not have been possible.
I have read Omar Khayyam’s ‘Rubaiyat’ in translation and marvelled at the emotions and its universal appeal and dreamt of authoring such a work in Telugu. ‘Pyaasa’ is the result.
I must tell you that Telugu film industry is one of the most comfortable places I found a woman can be. They do make a lot of mass films, but from my experience as an actor, I can tell you that people are very nice and welcoming. In fact, it’s slightly more difficult in other places.
Telugu cinema can really spoil you. They treat you like a queen. As soon as you get down from your van, they will all stand up, and they won’t sit till you have passed by. I love that attention and miss that.
It was when I was shooting for a Telugu film in Hyderabad when director Meher Ramesh approached me for ‘Veera Kannadiga.’ I was game to explore a new language and said yes.
Of course, I will continue acting. I just need to dispel the Telugu and Tamil cinema’s insecurities about married actresses. I don’t know about others. But I am not going anywhere after marriage.
Having started with Bollywood and then moving to Telugu industry, I feel that it is not possible to survive without talent in any industry.
I have sung in all languages, and so every people know me – Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu.
For ‘Rakht Charitra,’ I had to gain and lose weight. I simultaneously shot the film in three languages – Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi.
It was never a conscious decision to stay away from Telugu cinema.
I have regional films, Bengali and Telugu, but always wanted to do a Marathi film especially because I think this industry makes the best comedy films.
I was getting a lot of offers in Telugu when I was shooting for ‘Oh My Friend’ and ‘Seventh Sense.’
Sure, I have been a part of many Telugu movies, but I got those films because of my Hindi movies.
I consider Rashi Khanna and Regina Cassandra as my best friends. They say there are three Rs in the Telugu industry: Rakul, Rashi, and Regina. All three of us debuted in the same year, and while we all compete for the same roles, we are still the closest, and we confide in each other.
I have worked in Telugu films. I found Bengali easier and sweeter than Telugu.
When I tell people that I am acting in Telugu, they ask me if I have to overact.
Soon after ‘Paruthiveeran’ I was flooded with scripts that were almost the same as the award-winning film. I had offers from Malyalam, Telugu and Kannada filmmakers. But I had to be firm and in fact I realized that now I had to be more careful with my choice of films because I have raised the audience expectations.
I love doing Telugu films.
Telugu-Tamil producer Thyagarajan has bought the South Indian language rights for two Hindi hit films, Vikas Behl’s ‘Queen’ and Neeraj Pandey’s ‘Special 26.’ He wants me to play Akshay Kumar’s role in the Telugu version of ‘Special 26.’ Akshay and I even look similar, physique-wise.
I have not seen the Hindi version or the first season of ‘Big Boss Telugu.’ I will bring my own style to the show, using my understanding of how the format works.
I so wish my dad was alive to see me do a Hindi film after acting in six Telugu movies. I sometimes imagine him giving me feedback on my work. But I derive strength from knowing he is watching over me.
I was shooting for a Telugu film at the Taj Mahal in Agra, and there were all these women and children pointing and screaming, ‘Rowdy Rathore.’ But I am not really ‘Rowdy Rathore.’ I am the guy who did the original version of ‘Rowdy Rathore’ six years ago.
Although I am a Telugu girl, I never felt that my debut in Telugu was delayed. I always wanted to be part of a good script, and I am pleased that ‘Goodachari’ hit the right notes.
I am happy that I could contribute my bit and enable the use of colloquial Telugu words in mainstream films and literature.
Besides Kannada, I also know Telugu and Tamil fairly well.
In Tamil and Telugu, I have to do mainstream commercial films. Irrespective of what I want to do, the audience wants to see me in that ‘mass’ space.
I have tried to show the influence of folk music in Bollywood, in Tamil movies, in Telugu cinema.
When I was young I did not know about the Telugu film industry. Then I forayed into it and one project led to another.
‘Bad Girl,’ the Mollywood flick to be helmed by filmmaker Shajiyem wherein I essay the role of a super model, will be released simultaneously in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.
Well, we’re a Hindi speaking Marwari family, but everybody in my family understands Telugu and talk Telugu films all the time.
I am a typical Telugu boy dominated by all the qualities of a Hyderabadi because I was born and brought up here.
I am very grateful to Telugu movies, as they have been the main reason for my entry into Bollywood.
My mother tongue is Telugu. I was born and brought up in Tamil Nadu.
I have sung some songs in Telugu and Malayalam. And I want to sing in Tamil, too.
Should I be offered the right kind of script, I will be doing a straight Telugu film.
My formative years were not spent in Hyderabad, so I can only understand Telugu, but I love the culture.
I fail to understand why the #MeToo campaign in India didn’t gain momentum when Malayalam actor Dileep was arrested after an actress was abducted and assaulted or when Telugu actress Sri Reddy was banned for talking about sexual harassment. These instances were more deserving of the #MeToo movement than anything else.
Icons like Nagarjuna sir and Jagapati Babu sir have been so encouraging and shared such great energy, welcoming me into the Telugu film industry. It is motivating.
My journey of working in Telugu filmdom has helped me grow as an actor and person.
We dabble in the regional market and have tapped into it with some amount of success. Be it Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam or even Bhojpuri music, we have explored all possibilities.
I really respect Telugu cinema and the fact that people out here have a totally different style of working and are at par with Bollywood. Sometimes, they beat Bollywood with the kind of films they make.
I watched the Telugu version of ‘Pokkiri’ several times. Of course, I wielded the megaphone for the Tamil version. The script is very close to my heart.
I could easily master Telugu, but picking up Malayalam was challenging.
As offers came pouring in from the Telugu industry, I had to discontinue my studies and I shifted base to Madras in 1974.
I am very happy to have debuted in Telugu with a film like ‘Guru.’
I started with Tamil film, then Hindi. Now, I am also doing a Telugu film. The journey has been wonderful so far.
I learnt to sing in Bengali, my mother tongue, then went on to sing in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati and every possible Indian language.
In ‘Bigg Boss Telugu,’ I had to be myself, not Jai. So, every weekend, when I went to the television show, it helped me to get back to my real self.
