The leading lady in Varudu remained a question mark, till after the release of the film. But once it did hit theatres, did the brouhaha that surrounded the film and Bhanu Sri Mehra, seem hollow? This was a girl, cast opposite Allu Arjun, a name to reckon with, as Deepthi - the demure girl, who was abducted on the eve of her wedding. But did this film realise her dreams? Was it really the break that Bhanu was looking at?
Having pursued her schooling from Dehradun and her undergraduate studies from Mumbai, her aspirations steered her towards an industry that is hostile to many a newcomer. “For me modelling was the first step. I did advertisements for Tata Indicom, Fair & Lovely and Joy Alukkas,” said Bhanu, looking back on the initial days of her career.
THE BREAK
In an industry that is as fiercely competitive as it believed to be, she was no exception to the treatment. Offers were scarce and the option to be selective about the kind of work she wanted to do, absent. “So, my coordinator asked me to audition for Varudu. It all happened very fast from there. Within a week I had signed the contract and was ready to shoot,” she reflects on the days that put an end to the search for a break.
For most auditions, Bhanu would see a disheartening queue of approximately 100 girls, out of which one would get selected. She looks back on the difficulty that entailed roping in such contracts. But Varudu changed it all for her. “I had done my homework well, on the film as well as the director and the industry, so I knew I wanted to work on it, when I was offered the role,” she adds, though not once discounting the fact that her heart will always be set on the Hindi film industry. “Yes, Varudu was a fantastic experience. I learnt a lot, became a more disciplined person. I was a part of it for one and a half years. Though there were patches when it became extremely monotonous - the same costumes, dialogues and there was very little fun on the sets. It was very unlike Bollywood, where everything is very relaxed.”
STRANGER
For Bhanu, it was a roller-coaster ride. The girl who wanted to get into Hindi films, had to make a trade-off by choosing an industry that she knew nothing about. “The city didn’t appeal to me and neither did the people. I was from Mumbai and I was in a totally strange place,” she speaks, not too fondly of Hyderabad, Tollywood’s capital. This, however, was not the only disappointing factor for Bhanu. “Before Varudu was released, I was told strictly by the director to not go to the media or give any interviews, because it would reveal my identity. So, I waited till the film released.” She continues with a certain level of dejection to her tone, “The film was mostly about Allu Arjun. He’s a great actor, yes, but it was disappointing for me because it didn’t really project me the way I thought it would.” Indeed so. The film, which had promised to be a curtain raiser for this young model-turned-actor, didn’t quite cast her in the limelight that it was made out to be, prior to its release.
MALE DOMINATED
The thin blue line between the Telugu and Hindi film industry comes in the extent of representation that both offer to women, for Bhanu. “Tollywood lays more focus on men. The women aren’t represented well. This is very different in Bollywood, where you have more women-centric films. This is not so here, in the Telugu film industry.” Bhanu, however, pins it down to a matter of choice. According to her, if success comes to her through Tollywood, it would be easier to move to Bollywood - as have other actors in the past, such as R Madhavan and Asin. For this vivacious girl, it has been a long journey. Yet she still has miles to go before she sleeps.