Priya Bhavani Shankar one of the talented Tamil actresses around has had mixed fortunes as far as her career goes in recent times. Her acting was well received in the super hit horror flick ‘Demonte Colony 2’ while for no fault of hers Kamal Haasan’s ‘Indian 2’ directed by Shankar turned out to be troll material.
Her upcoming film ‘Black’ is a science fiction thriller costarring Jiiva, produced by Potential Studios, and directed by debutante Balasubramani. In a recent interview for promotions of her film Priya Bhavani Shankar gushed “We have seen a lot of thriller stories. It will be a different film from that. This film can also be called a new attempt. The shooting of this film also took place at the same time as the shooting of ‘Demonty Colony’. 5 minutes after the movie starts, Jiiva and I will be seen in every scene. We have acted as husband and wife. The story is about the problem faced by both of us in one night.
If it is a thriller story, it will be like it happens at night. Is this also the case?
That’s how it is. A story that takes place in one night. The screenplay will start at night and end in the morning. The entire story takes place in Chennai. So we shot once the city went to sleep and finish our work before sunrise. Shooting at night was a new experience.
This is your 2nd film with Jiiva…
We acted in ‘Kalathil Sandhipom’ and he has been a friend ever since. Everyone likes him. There will be no one who does not like him. In this film, the entire story revolves around us, so we are the ones with the most scenes. So we had a lot of fun together.
Do you feel any difficulty while acting in a new director’s film?
I made my debut in the new director’s film. Ratnakumar was a debut director when he made ‘Meyadha Maan’. Today, new directors are coming with a lot of talent and a good understanding and knowledge of cinema. We are going to act based on the script. If the new director has any problem, others will fix it. So there is no difficulty in acting in the direction of newcomers.
Heroine-centered stories have started coming more and more. Did you get anything offers?
Such stories have been coming for four years. There is a lot of difference between heroines who have been acting in films for fifteen years or more and have a market for themselves, acting in a heroine-centric film and an actress who has been acting for four years. It will not be right if I make up stories like that for them to do so. If I say OK and act in it, I will get paid. But, a producer comes after pledging their property in his or her hometown and risks money on the project. But who will come to the theater? So, I think the producer should not be made to lose money. But, if a story comes that the producer and director feel that only I can do justice I will definitely act in it.
You have said once before that you want to act in a ‘grey character’… why such a desire?
Variety can be shown in acting! Usually as a heroine character, you can’t do anything above a limit. Because, there is a rule here that women who are heroines should laugh in moderation and remain calm. Similarly, the hero also has some rules. He should not miss justice and fairness. But, villains have no such limit. You can experiment a lot in acting. Our directors always write negative characters for women. If it comes like that, I think you should not miss it.
You have reached your place step by step…what to do you feel about the film industry’?
There is no one here who moves me forward in the cinema or does something for me. I knew this from the first film itself. I am proud to grow like this by my own hard work. Of course no one is all self made as someone has helped in some small way. They did the same to me.
You acted in the web series ‘Dootha’… They said that the 2nd part is coming…
A web series made in Telugu. Released on Amazon Prime and became a hit across India. It was among the top 3 series released on Amazon Prime last year. My performance was also appreciated. The second part will be developed as a continuation of that. I am too. The announcement has been made and the shooting will start soon.