Though Shweta Srivatsav's film Fair & Lovely is coming after almost a year of her debut Simple Agi Ondhu Love Story, she was in the news for the kind of role she chose to do in her second film, which is that of a sex worker.
Coming from a conservative family background, taking up such a role was not easy for the actress. But ask her today, about Fair & Lovely, she feels proud to have been part of the project and is confident that her role will be liked by all kinds of audience.
"It is a false assumption that the family audience will not turn up because I play a sex worker in the film. I have maintained an image in the industry and people who have been with me and have seen me in theatre, small and big screen are aware that I will not take up a role, if it is 'vulgar'. This role I have played is not sleazy. In fact, people will trust my decision more after watching this film," she says.
When Shweta first heard the story of Fair & Lovely from script writer Yathiraj and director Raghuram, she never imagined that the role will have so many shades. "I have four to five names in the film. I leave the audience to decide what my name in the film is. On a serious note, the role has a wider meaning than we imagine about sex workers and that is what attracted me to take up this film. I come out with an important message to the society. I can assure that this particular sex worker's character in the film is different from what the previous generations have watched. The film also is a complete entertainment package," she says.
Incidentally, Shweta, got seven to eight offers after Simple Agi..., and all of them demanded her to be a sex worker on screen. "I was shocked and worried, as to why I was getting such offers. But later I got to know that as an actresses, one can give her best performances in such roles and I was convinced. Whether it is Shabana Azmi, Tabu, Vidya Balan, Rani Mukherjee or Kannada actress Kalpana, all of them have proved themselves and given their best in such roles. I am glad that filmmakers thought that I could carry off such a role, in my second film itself," she says.
Shweta says she was looking for a particular director and a team that could handle the subject and the storyline well. And she was happy to have associated with director Raghuram and the plus point was a woman, Shilpa Ramesh Ramani, was producing the film.
"Both Raghuram and Shilpa have two daughters and they knew how to deal with the emotions of a woman. There was a good environment throughout the shooting process and that gave me so much of confidence. Raghuram being an artiste, understood how much liberty an actor requires and gave me that space, which helped us to work better," she says.
The excitement of dealing with this character, and moulding into to being a sex worker could only happened to her by observing characters in regular life. "I don't believe in researching for a role. I tend to observe people and implement it in the film I act," says Shweta and adds, "Sometimes, it was disturbing. I kept thinking what a woman has to go through in our society."
The actress who is trying to create her own brand wants to prove that there is no difference between a hero and a heroine and all should be considered as entertainers. "What is your potential and how want to entertain is up to you. We have to bring that revolution in the Kannada industry and I somehow feel that I have the potential to make the difference and happy about it," she says.
"Entertainment is not just about good looks and being a model. We need to have knowledge and study films to entertain and to cater to the smarter and wider audience," she says.