Your heart and your instincts are far more reliable than your brain. When you follow your heart, you can be sure you won't regret it later. Even if you calculate your every move, it's not like life ever goes according to plan.
Nithya Menen
When they say 'action,' I am into it completely and forget everything around. When they say 'cut,' I am back to myself.
Soundarya was always respected, and she is looked at in a certain way that I always would like to be looked upon as an actress.
I am not a trained singer, but I love to sing.
I am not intellectually choosy. My choice of films reflect who I am, but it is not done with strategy and planning. I hear something and go by my intuition.
I have met fantastic men in my life and horrible women. I have also met some amazing women and terrible men. I have seen women who are sexists.
I'll never forget the dance number that I shot with Anushka. The choreography involved a lot of intricate dance moves. I'm at least 7 inches shorter than Anushka, so I had to wear the highest heels I've ever worn in my life; throughout the song, I even injured my knee a couple of times.
If you worry too much, it shows in your acting, and it ceases to be effortless.
For me, it is not about being a part of a hit or a flop. Films are about friends, learning, and experiences. Certain films give me happiness.
The second you become an actress, people take the licence to make many assumptions about you. You're in trouble if you interact with a director/actor. You're in even more trouble if you don't. When I started out, a single YouTube comment would make me sad for days, and I'd wonder how people could say such nasty things about me.
I must tell you that Telugu film industry is one of the most comfortable places I found a woman can be. They do make a lot of mass films, but from my experience as an actor, I can tell you that people are very nice and welcoming. In fact, it's slightly more difficult in other places.
My part as an actor ends on the last working day. I think the success or failure only really matters to the producer or whoever it matters to. For me, when I finish the film, I'm done, and if I'm happy, that's that.
I'm not insecure. Give me a good role, and I'll perform even for a multi-starrer with half a dozen other heroines!
I've no apprehensions and inhibitions as an actor.
For me, a story has to have characters, and my role should be meaningful. At the end of the day, people should say that they like my performance.
I studied journalism, though I never really became a scribe.
Working with a good artiste is always a pleasure. If you get a reaction from your co-star, then you get the space to perform well.
I was eight years old when I was offered a film. And before I knew it, I was acting in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu movies.
I've never wanted to be an actress. I came into the industry to be a filmmaker, but let us say fate had other plans for me. I don't want to be the next glamour queen.
Had acting not taken off, I would've been glad to become a teacher.
I am not sure for how long I'll stick to this industry. Acting is just a part of my nomadic life.
I will not accept a role just because a big hero stars in it. I am not here to merely dance, run around trees, and be a glam doll.
If something has not been part of your dreams or ambitions, then you are not awestruck by it.
I try to choose characters that are very different; I think I have succeeded in that. A big role or a small one does not bother me at all. What matters is that I should have a rapport with the director.
I wanted to do journalism, as I was an idealist. Then, in my second year of journalism, I realized that in real life, things don't work the way you expect them to. I realized that I could express my ideas better through films.
After I did 'Ala Modalaindi,' I wanted to prove that a girl can also carry a film on her own.
All of us just go to college and waste our time and to pass our exams. So just learning journalism does not mean I'm good at it or any of the journalists are, either. There is no difference; it's just class, and it's just college.
Nobody goes to college and learns anything.
I don't see gender when I look at the world.
The Malayalam audience knows me as an art film actress, and I am fine with that because I know that such films come from the heart. It's difficult to do them, but the satisfaction you get is immense.
Journalism is not what it used to be. I thought it was an important job, but it is not. I'm idealistic, and it pretty much upsets me that negativity sells and that even if I wanted to tell the truth, I wouldn't be able to if my boss does not okay it.
People in Andhra Pradesh treat me like a girl next door after 'Ala Modalaindi.' I feel at home here.
I love being part of this industry, but at the end of the day, it is a job, and I like to have a life beyond films.
I studied journalism and was idealistic as a student. In course of time, I learnt that there's a lot of politics, and it's not easy to put forth your point of view as an investigative journalist.
I am not bothered about if my role in a film is small or big. Because if the character I am offered is sensible, I would do it even if it is small.
I am not an actress who only wants to do lead roles.
As an actress, I should be able to do all types of roles.
I am just an actor, and this is my job. What I am doing is not extraordinary.
I don't think I am really awesome. I think I have basic qualification to be an actor.
It doesn't feel great to be compared to Genelia or anyone. I don't want to be compared, and I would like to think I am different.
Acting is emotionally draining, so I make it a point to not do anything when I am home.
Acting was never planned.
'180' is a romantic film, but I don't think it can be classified as a fluffy love story. It is a wonderful story with a script that is layered and more complex than the normal ones.
I think acting is my destiny. I did my first film when I was just eight. However, I never took that role seriously.
Initially, I was a bit hesitant to do the role in 'MTP,' as it was a very serious and aching subject.
My cinema is of a different kind: give me a good meaty role instead of two or three songs and running around in foreign locations wearing itsy-bitsy costumes. I'm clear and focussed about my priorities.
Acting was not on my agenda. It just happened by chance. I always wanted to be involved in wildlife protection or maybe surrounded by kids. I love animals and children.
I am not very fond of spotlight or even, for that matter, money. I appreciate the small things that give me joy. The most precious forms of happiness often come from things that money cannot buy.
After I finished my degree in Mass Communication in Manipal, I enrolled for a cinematography course in Pune Film Institute. That is when Nandini Reddy, the director of 'Ala Modalaindi,' convinced me to act.
I don't enjoy public attention. I don't like being recognised, being clicked, or being written about. But then it is destiny. I am just going with the flow.
