Last year, Hansika Motwani had four releases in Tamil including Aranmanai-2 (2016) and Manithan (2016). Awaiting the release of Bogan (starring Jayam Ravi and Arvind Swami), the actress looks happy and confident. “Good scripts are important…that’s why I believe that an actor can chase good scripts to improve his or her credibility in showbiz,”she smiles.
Kicked about her role in Bogan, which is in total contrast to what she had done in all her films so far, Hansika says, “You will see me doing some crazy stuff. For the first time, I got drunk for Bogan; a long sequence demanded that. It was shot in about 10 days. I did something else, which I haven’t done all these years.”
Speaking about pairing up with Jayam Ravi for the third time after Engeyum Kadhal (2011) and Romeo Juliet (2015), she says, “Ravi is like a family member to me. We share a great comfort level. I have always felt at-home acting with him.”
A successful actress with box-office whammies like Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (2011), Mappillai (2011) and so on, Hansika has not signed any projects in Tamil this year. We asked her about it and she says, “I don’t like to tell that I am on board for this film and that film. I want the producers to talk about such things. I don’t like to create unnecessary hype.”
Hansika, who has seen highs and lows, adds she wants to do good quality work and entertain the audience. “I go by the script, character, director, banner, co-artiste, and of course, my instinct.” Quiz her about her Bollywood dreams, she laughs, “You don’t like me being here? I am happy with what I am doing right now. I do films in Tamil and Telugu. Though I belong to north India, fans treat me like a Tamil ponnu. I am overwhelmed by their affection and love. In fact, some of my close friends in Mumbai are surprised by my Tamil slang. In fact, many times I say ‘appdiya’ instead of ‘Oh, is it’. I want to concentrate more on Tamil films.”
Hansika hates when somebody asks her about ‘dream role’. She says, “I wanted to play a princess; but that happened in Puli (2015). As of now, I have none. I don’t believe in dream roles, but I believe in variety. I like all kinds of roles, especially those that will generate a response from the audience.”
She wants to be remembered by the films she has done, and the roles she has played. “I read through the script because I’m consciously trying to build a memorable body of work. I’m a greedy actor and want meaty roles,” she says. Does it mean that she’s open to doing women-centric roles? “I don’t think I can do them at this point of my career. I am not sure if I have the maturity to handle them,” she laughs.