‘I have mastered the art of dealing with trolls’
ANASUYA SAYS SHE HAS BECOME STRONGER WITH TIME
She’s often targeted by trolls — either for her choice of outfits on her television shows or for her characters. She’s been body shamed and sometimes even denounced for speaking out. For actors, handling negativity on a daily basis is taxing. But Anasuya says she has mastered the art of dealing with trolls. “I have been giving it back to them (trolls); I won’t take any nonsense,” she says.
The actress shares that she was earlier vulnerable and a soft target for trolls, but over the years, she has evolved as a better version of herself. “I am the happiest and a stronger person now, even with these trolls,” she laughs.
Anasuya says her husband’s support has been instrumental in her transformation. “He tells me not to bother reading the ugly comments,” she says. “But I am just curious to see how people are looking at my work,” she admits. The actress also attributes the changes she’s achieved to her upbringing and life experiences. Being part of the NCC influenced her greatly, she says. “It gave me courage to speak up and stand up for myself,” she explains, adding that the training also influences her choice of roles at times.
Her role in Pushpa is a classic example. It’s very raw and rustic, something she hasn’t portrayed. “It shocked many people, but I liked the highhandedness of the character (Dakshayani), and I could relate to it to a certain extent,” she says with a wink.
In her upcoming Ramesh Varma directorial Khiladi, starring Ravi Teja, Anasuya is again set to surprise the audience. She says that she grew up watching Ravi Teja, which is one of the reasons why she signed on for the project. “I wanted to work with him. Moreover, it’s an entertaining role. It requires me to take risks,” she says, adding that screen time never mattered to her.
Anasuya is one of the few actresses in Tollywood to take up femalecentric films. And she feels glad that the trend of portraying women in author-backed roles is back in vogue. “It was there earlier too — Savithri garu and Jamuna garu played such roles. But somewhere along the way, we missed a trick and the portrayal of women was confined to running around the trees with the hero,” she notes.
THE ACTRESS ALSO ATTRIBUTES THE CHANGES SHE’S ACHIEVED TO HER UPBRINGING AND LIFE EXPERIENCES. BEING PART OF THE NCC INFLUENCED HER GREATLY, SHE SAYS. “IT GAVE ME COURAGE TO SPEAK UP AND STAND UP FOR MYSELF,” SHE EXPLAINS, ADDING THAT THE TRAINING ALSO INFLUENCES HER CHOICE OF ROLES AT TIMES. MY ROLE IN PUSHPA SHOCKED MANY PEOPLE, BUT I LIKED THE HIGHHANDEDNESS OF THE CHARACTER