She might have drawn much rancour for turning into a glam goddess overnight. But there is no denying that the actress has definitely hit a high note with her roaring career in Kannada. After playing the cute-and-coy heroine to the hilt, Bhama decided to call it quits and relocate “looking for something off the trodden road.” Just back from the 50th day celebration of ‘Auto Raja’, her latest hit in Kannada, the actress is brimming with positivity. “‘Barfi’ will hit the screens by the end of this month followed by ‘Appayya’ and ‘Ambara’,” she gushes.
A confident Bhama says now she has reached a place where she can cool off her heels without turning invisible. The actress adds she is finally getting her due and she isn’t in a hurry to sign any film just for the sake of it. She has a string of releases lined up in Malayalam including ‘D company’ opposite Fahad Fazil and ‘Kathaveedu’ with Kunchako Boban. “‘D Company’ is an action anthology and I am part of Vinod Vijayan’s episode. After ‘Kathaveedu’ I am once again teaming up with Kunchako Boban for Jijo Antony’s ‘Konthayum Poonoolum’.”
Bhama says she badly wanted a break from her demure sari-clad image and Kannada industry offered her exactly that. But then, she was back at the right place at the right time bagging a spate of interesting projects. “In ‘Kathaveedu’ I play stylish city girl, something I haven’t done much in Malayalam. I play a sort of psycho character in ‘D Company’ for which I have gone completely deglam.” ‘100 Degrees’ has her playing a Christian housewife while in ‘Konthayum Poonoolum’ she appears as the mother of a one-year-old.
Bhama says that though Kannada films kept her busy for a long while she was always open to good scripts from Malayalam. “If you stick to Malayalam films alone you are left with no options, but to go on repeating characters churned out in the same format. Now that I have something else up my sleeve, I can afford the luxury of being selective. Doing other language films has given me the freedom and confidence to politely decline some offers.”
Bhama says shedding inhibitions and stepping into the dance floor for ‘Auto Raja’ was no big deal. “I am basically an actress and what is the challenge in following the same old template? I don’t want to be tagged as the docile girl-next-door and struck with that image,” she says. Shaking a leg for an item dance was the last thing Malayalis expected from her, but Bhama says coming out of the box has done her oodles of good. “I don’t know whether you should term it an item song. The script demanded it and I was playing a wannabe actress in the film. It is her performing on the screen and you can’t expect her to wear a davani. My character in the film is not a mere prop and it was well accepted by the audience. I couldn’t have asked for more,” she says.
Another project she is really looking forward to is English-Tamil bilingual ‘Ramanujan’, a biopic of the mathematical genius. “It’s a period film where I play Janaki, an Iyengar woman wearing the 9-yard madisars. I went through all the material available on her before stepping into Janaki’s shoes.”
She says though language is never a hitch and she is equally comfortable with all the industries, she nurtures a soft spot for Malayalam. “I am more content and glad working here. At the end of the day this is where I belong and I am well aware of the fact,” she winds up.