I Have Acted In Films I Didn’t Believe In Earlier, But Not Anymore: Priyamani

Ahead of the streaming premiere of her latest film, BhamaKalapam 2, in which Priyamani plays a nosy housewife who just cannot stay away from trouble, the actor shares that working in a film like this is certainly not as “emotionally and physically demanding” as a Paruthiveeran (2007), her breakout film, but comes with its own set of challenges. “Anupama is an innocent person and I don’t look innocent from any angle. So playing an innocent character itself was quite a task,” she quips.

“Every movie is a learning for you,” she says, sharing that she is still learning new things each day. In this chat, she opens up about how her choices have evolved over the years, why she is proud of being trained by old-school filmmakers, and an important lesson she learned from Mohanlal.

Excerpts from the interview:

Your debut, Evare Athagadu came out in 2003 and this is your 21st year as an actor. Has the journey been as smooth as one would hope for or has it been a rollercoaster ride?

It’s definitely had its share of ups and downs. It’s 50-50. I wouldn’t say it was a bed of roses. I have encountered a lot of thorns in my way but I’m happy now. I can say that the bouquet feels complete now. (smiles)

In Neru, you play a lawyer who knows that the accused person she is defending is guilty of committing a heinous crime. However, she has to do her job and fight in the court that he is innocent. In a similar vein, have there been instances in your career where you chose roles or films even though they didn’t align with your belief system?

I have made some choices like that but I won’t make them anymore. It wasn’t a compulsion but I don’t know what came into me, I just said, ‘It’s just a movie, it is okay’. I might have thought, even if I don’t like it, the money is good. I’ll be very honest, I have done things like that early in my career. But I don't do it anymore. I think my thought process began changing 10-12 years back. If money was the only criterion, I would have easily done 90-100 films by now. But I believe in quality because when you look back at your life after you stop acting and move on, it’s important that you have a legacy left behind you. I might be here today and I might not be here one day. I don’t want people to look down on me for doing poor films. But today, people tell me that my choices of films were great and that’s what I want when I decide to quit.

I’m sure you haven’t done a single interview down South in which you weren’t asked about Paruthiveeran. Such is the impact of the film and your character Muthazhagi. But when something so impactful happens in your career early on, did making choices post that become difficult?

Well, I made a conscious choice after Paruthiveeran that I wouldn’t do similar roles despite being offered several films that expected me to play a slightly different version of Muthazhagi. I just didn’t want to follow up Muthazhagi with a similar role. I’m not saying that I won’t do a role like that if I’m offered one now. I am open to doing something like that provided that the story is good and the character is strong enough. I consciously chose a film like Malaikottai (2007) and it was the first time people learned that I could also carry a modern attire and dance well. And it had great dance numbers and people felt I was different in it. Some choices worked in my favour, some choices are working in my favour and some choices may not have worked but that’s okay.

You are an actor who has worked with both the old-school (Bharathiraja & Balu Mahendra) and new-age filmmakers. You even said that Bharathiraja, who introduced you to films, hit you once. While this might reflect a mentor-mentee relationship back in the day, this sort of behavior would be considered unacceptable today. Since you have seen filmmaking transition from one era to the other, do we have a safer and healthier working environment today in filmmaking?

It is a lot safer now, thanks to the #MeToo movement and the changes that happened. But I would say that I’m extremely fortunate that I came from the old-school style of filmmaking (smiles). I am glad to have witnessed it and to have been a part of it because that is what has made me what I am today. So I’m proud of the fact that I belong to that school of filmmaking.

20 years later, do you still get to learn new things about the craft and yourself?

Of course. Jawan, for instance, was a physically demanding part and we had to undergo action training where they taught things like how to hold a gun and how to perform stunts without hurting yourself. All of us, the girls in the film, did our stunts by ourselves.

Anupama from BhamaKalapam is the only character in your career you are getting to play twice. How did it feel revisiting the character after 2 years for the sequel and continuing from where you left off?

It was very spontaneous. The moment I came to set and put on make-up, I became Anupama. It came naturally to me and when you are rehearsing lines, it makes your work easier. I also had help from director Abhimanyu, guiding me on how Anupama talks and behaves. It’s the first time I’m revisiting a character and it was a very interesting experience.

Finally, when you are standing up against Mohanlal in the court and fighting with him, did you feel a sense of accomplishment?

Yes, indeed (smiles). He is somebody I grew up watching. I learned something important from him while working on Grandmaster (2012). His mother was unwell back then. He would shoot with us till 9 PM and go to the hospital after that, stay there the whole night, and come to the set the next morning. He did that for the entire schedule. In between shots too, he would call the hospital and talk to doctors. The moment he stepped in front of the camera, though, he would just transform into a different person. He would just go from being the son to actor. At one point, I asked him whether he wasn’t tired, stressed, or disturbed. And he told me, “Whatever you have going on in your life, leave it outside the set. Once you are in front of the camera, that shouldn’t disturb you and you should do what is expected of you. Once the shot is over, nobody has the right to dictate what you should do. You can do whatever you want. But in front of the camera, nothing should bother you.” This is something I have been following ever since. When I’m in front of the camera, I make it a point to not attend to the phone. At that moment, I’m only an actor, the phone can wait.