Suchi in The Family Man, Muthazhagu in Paruthiveeran or making Shah Rukh Khan shake a leg in Chennai Express - trust Priyamani to pick some of the most versatile characters and make them iconic. Her latest character is comrade Bharathakka in Virata Parvam, starring Sai Pallavi and Rana Daggubati in the lead.
The movie premiered on Netflix on July 1, two weeks after its theatre release. City-based actor Priyamani essays the role of Bharathakka, and the movie is set in the Telangana region in the 1990s amidst the Naxalite movement. She explains her character is the right-hand man of Ravanna, Daggubati's character.
"When the director explained the character to me, he said she is a woman of principle. She is the only one who could put Ravanna in his place, at the same time she is his confidant and a shoulder to cry on. She is like his sounding board. That's how she starts," says Priyamani.
However, the audience can see different shades of her in the second half of the movie. While the story of the movie is based on true events and Pallavi's character Vennela is inspired by Sarala, who was shot by Naxals, Priyamani says she didn't have any inspiration to sketch her character. "I just went with the flow that the director explained to me," says the actor.
With the Naxalite movement in the backdrop, most of the scenes in the movie were shot in rough terrains and natural forests. "We shot in Kerala and the outskirts of Hyderabad as well. I am just happy that people are liking the film. Some people did feel it was slow but the film caught up later and so far we have been getting positive responses," says Priyamani.
Always known for picking the right kind of roles, Priyamani can guarantee to light up every frame she is in, irrespective of the screen time the character has.
"For me, I pick and choose the project I need to be part of and I am happy they work well for everybody. I don't do every project just to be seen, if the project is good, automatically people will start talking about it," explains the national award-winning actor. Having worked in different movie industries, Priyamani does not feel the need to rely on social media to keep herself visible.
“I don’t think you need to stick to social media all the time and I don’t necessarily keep posting every minute. I am glad that I have my family to keep me grounded and make me realise that acting is just a part of life, even though I know I am from the industry and need to be seen quite often," says Priyamani, whose upcoming projects are Maidaan, starring Ajay Devgn and Jawan starring Shah Rukh Khan.