I am extremely choosy about my roles as I want variety; I would like to work with the best of people.
Padmapriya Janakiraman
My entry into films was forced, and I always had an affinity towards academics. Having said that, it is the artiste within that urged me to say yes to acting.
I am basically a theatre artiste. However, after stepping into cinema, I did not get much opportunity to act in plays.
The Hegelian dynamic plays out daily on and off the film sets - women are not lesser beings, but because they are assumed to be, they are subjected to inferior conditions. And this inferiority projects itself through the feeling of weakness and subjugation.
I hate flashy metrosexual men. I prefer a rustic man who will make a long-time companion.
It's a misconception that an intelligent person can't act and I want people to discard such notions.
Actually, I am a typical middle-class girl.
I am not against the idea of looking sexy. But I don't like women being looked at as mere objects of sex.
In every film, I sport a different look for each character. It's almost as if my features change to accommodate the characters.
I've always been a part of theatre.
If the character you play on screen has to have life, you should dub in your own voice.
When you live with a character in your mind, after a while you start to behave like them, act like them and connect with them. That is how acting happens for me.
To create a new resume of films and expressions is the only focal point for 2014 for me.
Usually people are apprehensive about facing the camera for the first time. But for me, it was the most natural thing.
When you have a meaty character to play opposite an actor you like, it becomes a memorable experience.
My parents live in Hyderabad and I visit the city often.
I started learning dancing when I was three years old, and I started modelling when I was eleven years old.
I was supposed to do Beautiful,' and when I watched the movie, I knew that I had missed out on a great opportunity.
The state of Kerala and Malayalam film industry has been like a home to me ever since I started my career as an actress.
I do want to get into the government and work for finance management divisions and policy management, but they are all long-term dreams and I don't know when I'll decide to go for it.
Getting a Masters in Public Administration was nothing unusual for me. I have always been a person to hold on to my other interests along with my acting career.
If I had my way, I would have started my career with Hindi films.
Malayalam films just fell into my lap.
If I am offered a character that demands me to go bald, I would definitely give it a thought. I love my hair, but if the script is that brilliant I would take up such roles.
I was part of the Bollywood film 'Strikers,' which I would call a niche film.
I'm greedy for good films, and will test waters in new territories as long as I get to satiate that greed.
It's not only the story and the script that matter to me but also the people whom I work with.
I am not a person who wants to be in the limelight all the time.
All I want is to be a part of good projects and be remembered for that.
Item numbers are a different ball game altogether. I feel no one in Mollywood has the guts or skill to film an item song, without making it look vulgar, as Amal Neerad can.
In director V K Prakash's 'Poppins,' I'll reprise the same role I did in its Kannada version.
No one can insist me to wear skimpy costumes and to act in steamy scenes just for the sake of pulling more audience to cinema halls.
I am never disappointed in life in not getting any awards: it is the movies which keep me going, not the awards.
I don't do movies for the awards. The awards are made for the films. The films are not made for the awards.
Nowhere in the world will you find a cowboy speaking in Tamil.
When you see the phase of 60s and 70s, the craze for Dev Anand and actors of that era, it still exists in south. The craze is huge but that's also for stars like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Mohanlal, especially for male stars.
There is a certain fictional element that goes in playing a common person.
I believe the #Metoo movement is here to stay.
However vain our entire political class or organizations are, in the name of cynicism we cannot bend towards authoritarian populism.
Our lives are better when we make the right choices through a heightened awareness of the world around us.
I sign films that have significance for my characters or are big entertainers.
Language is not a barrier, specially Hindi. It is the only language I read, write and speak in and so it is far easier than South Indian languages.
I love food and love cooking.
I have not tried enough to be in Bollywood.
I have always been a pan-Indian actress with pan-Indian taste.
I want to leave a deep impact of my acting in people's mind.
I want to be the Guru Dutt of the world.
Three months after reaching the U.S., hurricane Sandy struck, and I had to spend four days in the university shelter. Though I have worked for projects on environment displacement in the past, it was the first time that I actually experienced one and understood how attached one can be to your regular shelter.
As an actor, I just made the most of the opportunities that came my way and I owe it to my directors for having given me characters with substance, as I have never gone around asking for a role.
As an artiste, you get a high when you are given roles that are challenging.
