Actor Priyamani’s most recent release is the Telugu black comedy thriller Bhamakalapam. The film, which premiered on Aha on Friday, features her as the over-curious housewife Anupama, who posts cooking videos on YouTube and senses something fishy about an incident in her apartment.
A day before the film’s release, Priyamani sat down with Silverscreen India to talk about her role in Bhamakalapam, her experience of working in different languages, her dream role, and more.
Bhamakalapam is her first tryst with the dark comedy genre, which draws its humour from grim and taboo topics. “This was the first time I tried it and I am quite happy with the results. I have to thank Bharat Kamma (presenter) and Abhimanyu (director) who thought of me for this character and believed I was good enough to play the role of Anupama. It was quite fun and different,” she says.
The film marks her OTT debut as well and she adds, “What better way to make my debut than with such a role and for a platform like Aha.”
Abhimanyu had previously told us that Priyamani was one of the top three names that popped up for the main character, who is a middle-aged housewife in her 30s. The actor reveals that though she liked the character and wanted to do it, she almost missed out on the project. “I was tied up with other projects and asked them for some time, but they wanted to start as soon as possible,” she says. Luckily, the Bhamakalapam team was able to accommodate her dates and the film happened.
Priyamani, who has previously worked with experienced filmmakers like Mani Ratnam (Raavanan), Ameer (Paruthiveeran), Ram Gopal Varma (Rakta Charitra 2), and Balu Mahendra (Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam), has collaborated with a first-time director for Bhamakalapam.
The actor asserts that more than a director’s experience, it is the project that speaks for itself as far as she is concerned. “My utmost priority is the script. If that works out, the rest follows. And it all depends also on what the director wants from me and how they envision their characters. If they think you are good enough for it, they must have seen something in you. Coming to Abhimanyu’s craft, he is sorted and knows what he wants. At the same time, I had the liberty to ask if a scene could be performed in a certain way and to improvise and make suggestions. But this was also the case with the other directors I’ve worked with,” she adds.
Priyamani has worked in films across languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada, and she attributes this to her being a polyglot. “It helps if you know the language that you are working in. And languages were never difficult for me. I am a Tamilian from Palakkad, so I know both Tamil and Malayalam. Since I was born and brought up in Bangalore, I am also fluent in Kannada. Hindi, I learnt in school. And I picked up Telugu fairly easily too.”
The actor is still best remembered by Tamil audiences as Muthazhagu from Paruthiveeran, a role that fetched her the National Film Award. However, her last project in the language was the 2012 Tamil-Kannada bilingual Charulatha. Asked about the long gap, she says, “I don’t have an answer for that; you need to ask the makers. I do get offers from the Tamil industry, but I need to be convinced about the roles coming my way. That said, I am currently working on a Tamil film called Quotation Gang. It is about gangsters and I play a contract killer.”
Priyamani, who debuted as an actor with the 2003 Telugu film, Evare Athagadu, has been in the film industry for nearly two decades. Does she have any unfulfilled aspirations? “I am still hungry for more work. I want to do more movies and work with all the directors as well as actors,” she replies, adding she treasures having been introduced in Tamil by the legendary filmmaker Bharathiraja and working with top directors across industries, like SS Rajamouli, Puri Jaganaadh, and Ranjith (Malayalam).
The actor has no regrets about the course of her career. “Looking back, I have liked each character I have played. Irrespective of the films doing well or not, I have enjoyed my work in them. There is not one character I regret doing.”
However, she adds, if there is one thing that she has learned, it is to not be naïve. “I was really naïve when I started out. I was really nervous and went with the flow, whereas the girls of today stand up for themselves. They are so brave and stand up for what is right. It is a great thing. I have learned to stand up for myself too.”
Priyamani, who appeared in a special dance number, 1 2 3 4 Get on the Dance Floor, in the Hindi film Chennai Express alongside Shah Rukh Khan, has since never made another such special appearance. Asked about this, she says, “It was a collective decision I took with my family. After Chennai Express, I did get a lot of offers to do special numbers. But I did not want to be typecast and I also just did not want to do such songs anymore.”
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After Bhamakalapam, Priyamani will be seen in Rana Daggubati’s Telugu film Virata Parvam, in which she essays a Naxal comrade. She is also set to appear as Ajay Devgn’s wife in the Hindi sports drama Maidaan. “I play Ajay sir’s wife and sort of his anchor and emotional support,” she adds.
Before signing off, Priyamani reveals that playing a grey-shaded character is on her wish-list. She adds that such roles will give an actor the chance to show a different side and cites Ramya Krishnan’s Neelambari from Padayappa (1999) as her favourite example of such a character.