With Avane Srimannaryana getting closer to release, Shanvi Srivastava says she is experiencing the maximum level of excitement. Currently, the whole halla gulla is for the film as well as everything that’s happening around it, adds the actor.
"I don’t remember the last time I had these mixed feelings of happiness and nervousness. It is the best time not just for me, but for the entire team that has put in hard work for months. I am going all out to wish the best for this project, since it got me involved with some amazing people," she says.
For her, the relevance of Lakshmi is as much as Narayana in ASN, says Shanvi, calling them characters without whom the story cannot move forward. "The mystery will not be a mystery without Lakshmi, and that’s how my character will make a difference in ASN. I don’t know how much screen space Lakshmi, a reporter in the film, will get. But I do know that the story revolves around my character," says Shanvi, for whom, personally, the name Lakshmi just doesn’t stand for money, but also for "honesty, passion and hard work".
Ask her about what ASN demanded from her to be in the character, and she replies that all that the makers wanted from her was to walk, talk, and behave like Lakshmi, without any trace of Shanvi Srivastava, on or off the screen. "Lakshmi, a character I carried for almost one- and-a-half years, has changed me, and I feel I am a different person now. In the process, I imbibed a lot of characteristics of Lakshmi, which will be visible on screen,” she says Shanvi, adding that the character didn’t require her to put in a lot of hard work. “However, emoting less or in a controlled way, and not going even slightly overboard with the expressions, was the toughest part of playing Lakshmi," she tells CE.
For Shanvi, ASN will be her biggest release so far. According to the actor, it is a world-class cinema, and if the Kannada audience accepts this film, it will take the industry to another level. “It all depends on the people of Karnataka, who can move the attention of the entire Indian audience towards this film. If they welcome this film, then it is going to certainly spread across other languages too. Even though it is my biggest release, I am personally not expecting too much from it, but I do wish the best for the overall film, and how it’s going to reach the people,” she says.
Putting together her working experience in ASN, she adds, “Rakshit was telling a story about his two friends, and how they were the reason for him to get passionate about cinema. Likewise, Rakshit alone has become a reason for me to become more passionate about cinema. Working with Rakshit, director Sachin Ravi and producer Pushkar Mallikarjunaiah has only helped me learn how to love my work, regardless of what people say. It was amazing, comfortable and inspiring.”
About her future projects, Shanvi says, “I have no clue, and I am also tense as how I go about considering my future films. I am not a creator or writer, and neither can I act, direct or produce a film like Rakshit Shetty. All I can try is to connect with good scripts.”