For the first time in the history of South Indian cinema, original jewellery collection has been designed and used in a motion picture. Yes, you read that right! Anushka’s jewellery in her upcoming film, Rudhramadevi, is made out of real gold studded with real precious stones.
Anushka plays the Kakatiya queen of the 13th Century in the film and so, a team from NAC jewellers along with costume designer Neeta Lulla studied the jewellery of the period in the region. Neeta then carefully designed the gold pieces based on their research and the NAC team made them in gold.
Anushka, who was recently in the city to launch NAC’s Rudhramadevi jewellery collection, explained to City Express the difference between two of her most eagerly awaited films — Baahubali and Rudramadevi
“Baahubali is fictitious folklore while Rudhramadevi is based on the life of a real Kakatiya queen in the 13th Century. Both are set in a period when there were no guns. But that’s the only common point. When I heard the script of Rudhramadevi initially, even I thought ‘Okay, it’s history. Maybe it is going to be like Arundhati’. But what drew me to the project was the history of Rudhramadevi,” explained Anushka.
More than just being a queen and a conquerer, the film focuses on Rudhramadevi as a woman. “Even today, we talk about women issues. What she went through in the 13th and 14th centuries was, and in many ways continues to be, quite intense. She faced it with gusto and strength, and yet retained her compassion. That makes it a beautiful story. It’s eerie to know that it was real,” she added.
The story of the film, directed by Gunashekar, required her to do a number of sword fights, ride horses and elephants. Wasn’t she scared?
“I was more scared of riding a horse than the elephant. Of the three tasks, I found riding an elephant the easiest. This was because I had an awesome relationship with this elephant, Lakshmi,” Anushka says.
On her other projects, she confesses that she is now a part of Singam 3 as well. Incidentally, she is the only actress to be a part of all three films of the franchise. “It’s nice to be a part of a great project. Each time you go back and work with the same people, it is even better because you have a bond with them.”
Finally, what about wedding plans and settling down? “With Baahubali and Rudhramadevi taking three to four years of my life, I would like to settle down,” she says with a laugh. So, wedding on the cards? “Baahubali 2 on the cards,” she winks.