When actor Priya Anand was approached for the role of Anamika in Arima Nambi, she was in for a culture shock. As a party animal in the film set for release this Friday, Priya’s role is not even a patch of her original self. “Anamika is a party animal and I am barely a party person,” she says with a laugh, adding that it was exactly opposite to the role she essayed in Ethir Neechal.
Priya adds that how ever disconnected she is with her character in the latest flick, she hasn’t tried hard to get into the character. “I really don’t think a lot about how I look when I make a few expressions. I believe that I have to go with the flow of the performance and not look contrived. I am eager to see how it has turned out,” she says. Arima Nambi, a thriller starring Vikram Prabhu, has been helmed by Anand Shankar.
Having worked with a filmmaker whose thought process matched completely with hers, Priya says that she is happy that she got the opportunity. “Anand got in touch with me when I was shooting for Vanakkam Chennai in Munnar. We had the narration done through FaceTime. It is not often that you work with a filmmaker whose ideas match with yours so much. He is among my top three favourite filmmakers — the others being Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi and Mrighdeep Singh Lamba,” she says.
After working in Bollywood with films like English Vinglish and Fukrey, is she missing the industry now with only Tamil projects lined up?
She says, “I don’t want to belittle any industry. I am comfortable working in any language and it is the script and story that matter. I got many Tamil film offers while I was doing both the Bollywood projects. As I was engaged with the Tamil flicks, I couldn’t accept a number of Bollywood ones. But I have no regrets,” she says. Priya’s other projects that are set for release include Irumbu Kuthirai, Vai Raja Vai and Oru Oorla Rendu Raja.