‘My thought process is different, I believe everybody is unique’
Sai Pallavi isn’t your typical, glamour heroine. But she isn’t bothered being called a ‘Palin Jane’, says each one has an ‘X’ factor and to her the role and script matters more than “looks”. She’s going places in her career
Excerpts from the interview:
QYour character Vennela, a naxal, in Virata Parvam, has been winning accolades. What did the role mean to you?
When director Venu Udugula narrated the story, it was very new to me since I was raised in Tamil Nadu. The soul of the film and the spirit of character is raw and real — she had some ideologies. So I wanted to know how naturally my role would be portrayed moreso because it was a real-life character of Sarala.
I played the character from the story perspective. I am thrilled with the kind of response I have been getting. I have recently met her (Sarala) mother in Warangal, and the love they showed me was inexplicable. They loved the film, and they even gifted me a saree. It was a touching
moment.
Nothing like that (smiles)! I was narrated the script first and later I got to
know that Rana garu will be playing Ravanna. After he came on
board, the scale was bigger and vision was broader. I think the objective was to tell true stories and we have succeeded.
Q
You don’t have the quintessential looks of a mainstream heroine, yet your going is great. Would you take up glamour roles?
I never thought I would become an actor, so I always didn’t have any pressure on myself. I didn’t know which way I was heading. I didn’t know that I had to groom myself and it had just happened. After I came into the industry I believed that the script and the characters you do are much more significant than how we look. You look at your mother, sister and you don’t judge them by the way they look but rather how you feel being around them and what kind of a character they have.
So movies are the same — they make you believe in a world they are unaware of. When you love a person you love them for the character they play. My thought process is different and I believe everybody is unique in their own way. How they present that X factor in them through their confidence is the key. So when I had all these in my mind I never thought that I was missing anything. I felt very overwhelmed with the fact that people validated what I believed.
Q How has your struggle to stardom been?
My life has thrown many surprises. It hasn’t taken the turns which I imagined. I first wanted to be a kathak dancer, but I went and did Medicine, and from there I did films. From films I don’t know where life takes me. So I do not understand the word ‘struggle’ because finding a good script and a character is a struggle. Being
part of a character and trying to do it right is a struggle. So I have to say I have been blessed since my first film because I had directors who trusted that I could pull off the characters. But there are times when I sit and feel ‘Ah I wish I had such a script’, so there was never a struggle in my journey. I have this clarity of thought that nothing is constant, so we are always on the lookout for a better script. So my need and purpose is honest.
Q Is there any misconception that people have about you?
Oh yeah, there are quite a few to share (laughs). I am very passionate about films and I love the process from the time I came into films. People say that it is actually tough to convince me to say yes to the script, and that I actually ask a lot of questions. But if you get a good script I will react exactly like how the audience reacts. Once, on the sets of a Tamil film, the director said that he expected a lot of questions from me about my character but I didn’t ask. He said that what people think is different from reality. I am like a child on the sets trying to enjoy playing the character I love the most. But maybe because I am reserved and don’t make appearances outside people think that I have different ideas.
My life has thrown many surprises. It hasn’t taken the turns which I imagined. I first wanted to be a kathak dancer, but I went and did Medicine, and from there I did films. From films I don’t know where life takes me
I never thought I would become an actor, so I didn’t have any pressure on myself. I didn’t know that I had to groom myself... After I came into the industry I believed that the script and the characters you do are much more significant than how we look. You look at your mother, sister and you don’t judge them by the way they look but rather how you feel being around them and what kind of a character they have. Movies are the same
Q Has Medicine taken a back seat?
I think it has to be because Medicine is a very demanding field, like acting. So I don’t mix both professions. Right now I want to concentrate on films and later Medicine.
Q How’s it being called ‘Lady Powerstar’?
I don’t connect to such tags because I don’t think it is right. I would only receive the love people are showering on me. People love me because of the characters I played, so it is important that I use that love for choosing better scripts and do better work. Taking such a tag into my head might put a lot of pressure on me and not make me perform
I am scared about remakes because I am anxious to do a role that was already done. That’s when Chiru Sir said that he wanted me to play the role. I felt bad and was upset that day, but Chiru Sir is quite a sport and took it very lightly.
well. So I prefer being grounded.
Q We heard that you have turned down Chiranjeevi’s film?
I was offered a Tamil remake script. Generally I am scared about remakes because I am anxious to do a role that was already done. And that’s when Chiru Sir said that he wanted me to play the role. I felt very bad, who knows, I might have even done the role. I was upset that day, but Chiru Sir is quite a sport and took it very lightly. I definitely would love to do a film with Sir; it’ll be an honour.