After debuting in Hello opposite Akhil Akkineni in Telugu, Kalyani Priyadarshan is making her foray in Tamil with Hero opposite Sivakarthikeyan. Born to veteran filmmaker Priyadarsan and Malayalam actress Lissy, Kalyani speaks to News Today about the movie, from working behind the camera to silver screen, nepotism and more.
Excerpts from her interview
Q: Tell us about how you got an offer to act in Hero?
A: P S Mithran was looking for a fresh face for his movie. When he heard of me, he was little sceptical about whether I would be apt for the role because the character demanded a matured face. During this period, I randomly posted a pic on Instagram and after seeing it, Mithran confirmed me for the role. And also when I first met him, I conversed in Tamil and he didn’t know that I can speak the language. It worked in my favour.
Q: What is your role in the movie?
A: My role is that of a motivational speaker, who guides people. That’s the reason I didn’t dub for the movie. The character demands a powerful voice which I didn’t have as of now and that’s why Chinmayi did the work. I have no songs with exotic locations and also the movie doesn’t have unnecessary songs in the movie except the intro song for Sivakarthikeyan. This is totally a different movie and auditions will love it.
Q: On working with Sivakarthikeyan.
A: I am a big fan of Sivakarthikeyan and it was a nice experience working with him and that too in my Tamil debut. He gave me lot of tips while shooting. I hope he directs a movie in future.
Q: Any advice from your father?
A: I always wanted to work in cinema ever since my childhood days. When I entered the industry as assistant art director, I did not dream of becoming an actress. Only few years ago, I thought that my contribution to cinema should be something else and that’s when I decided to do female lead. My father used to say don’t worry about the screen timing but worry about being part of good films and Hero is that kind of movie.
Q: There are many women centric movies being made recently. Will you do one in future?
A: Of course, I want to do women centric films but this is not the right time. If Nayanthara or Deepika Padukone do such roles, they have a greater reach to influence the audience with the social message.
Q: Your take on nepotism?
A: There are many pros and cons in it. Pros are that you get an extraordinary platform to get introduced in the movie. But you have an added pressure to perform well. I have to keep my father and mother constantly in mind even while choosing the script. I can destroy their reputation in single go. At the end of the day, audience have to accept you.
Q: Tell us about future projects?
A: As of now I doing a film with Dulquer and I signed Maanaadu. I am carefully choosing my projects.