BENGALURU: Priyamani’s phone has not stopped buzzing in the past two days. Ever since the actor’s latest web series, His Storyy, released on Alt Balaji and Zee5 on April 25, she has been flooded with congratulatory messages. The show has the actor playing the lead, a strong and independent woman named Sakshi, and also stars Satyadeep Mishra and Mrinal Dutt. The story unfolds around the dilemma that Priyamani’s character goes through when she figures out the sexual orientation of her husband of 20 years. And it is this unique story line that made Priyamani agree to the project.
While the show is titled His Storyy, it also dwells on the female lead’s perspective. “When I heard the narration, it was interesting to know that the story was from the girl’s perspective. This meant she had a strong role to play. It was a journey of her being hurt when she found out the truth and how she coped with it,” says Priyamani, who featured alongside Shah Rukh Khan in the viral 1234 Get On The Dancefloor track in Chennai Express. The actor has always been an ally of the LGBTQ community and she wanted to use this story to send out a message.
“At the end of the day, love is love. Everyone is just looking for acceptance,” she says, adding that she was the first actor to be finalised for the show, a fact she could not have been happier about. The show also ran into a controversy but not for its bold storyline. Before it started streaming, there was a plagiarism issue with a poster that was released.
Priyamani clarifies that artistes are hardly included in such creative works. “But when the topic came up and Balaji decided to bring down the initial poster, it said volumes about their integrity. They didn’t go ahead and defend it, rather they gave out a public apology,” says Priyamani, who made her OTT debut in 2019 with The Family Man. The 36-year-old calls the series a game changer, giving her the confidence to explore more OTT platforms.
“Back in 2019, OTT was still coming up, and it was my husband who encouraged me to take up the project since it was opposite Manoj Bajpayee,” recalls Priyamani, adding that digital platforms are a new-age source of entertainment that are here to stay. While she is riding high on the success of her latest web series, her heart will never stray far from movies. “Currently, I am looking forward to the release of The Family Man 2. There is another web series I have signed. I also have two Telugu movies in the pipeline,” she says.
Coming up!
While The Family Man 2 is all set to release, Priyamani is working on another web series and two Telugu movies back to back. That’s plenty to look forward to.