Shruti Hariharan is one of the few actors who comes from a theatre background and she is in no hurry to grab headlines.
Having set her mark in Malayalam, she is currently shooting for her debut Kannada film, Lucia which will be directed by Pawan Kumar. "I will be playing a double role in my very first Kannada film. I have completed shooting for the simple girl role. Now I am busy shopping costumes for the rich girl's character," said Shruti.
Not waiting for audience reaction for her first film, Shruti has already geared up for another challenging role in Dyavare directed by Vijay.
Interestingly her second film in Kannada is inspired by real life incidents of prisoners who escaped from one of the jails in Karnataka and how among those a bunch of four characters lead different lives in the city. I play a girl who is working in a garment factory. The character will see mixed emotions," said Shruti and added.
"Apart from me, there is Ninasam Satish and newbie Chetan who has completed his first film Mandahasa. Since I am already paired up with Satish in Lucia, this film will see me opposite Chetan."
Apart from this, she will also be starring in two Malayalam films for which she starts shooting from January 2013.
Shruthi reveals that director Pawan wants to take his time with Lucia as he wants to deliver the best. "We have completed 65 per cent of the shooting. I do not see him rush at any point. Though it is not a big budget film, he will use public funding in a sensible way," Shruti explained.
As of now, she is getting comfortable with Sandalwood and Mollywood. Shruti always comes across as a focused actress who has a few plans for herself. "My theatre background has helped me fetch varied roles in the beginning of my career itself. Frankly speaking, directors do not give me glamorous roles. They would rather give me roles that have character, said Shruti. Though she is aware t h a t her talent will take her places, she is waiting for the right time to be a Southern star.
"I was supposed to start off with a Tamil film. But it got shelved even before it could take off. I am quite media shy but at this point, I want to exhibit varied kind of roles and my work should speak for itself. I am constantly challenging myself," she concluded.