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A lot of films these days have strong roles for women: Actor Bhanupriya

Express News Service

With more than 150 films to her name, Bhanupriya is a bonafide veteran in the Indian film industry. But you wouldn’t know it given how soft-spoken she is. About her upcoming release, the Karthi-starrer Kadaikutty Singam, she says, It’s been a while since I did a rural subject. The actor is full of confidence about the film. It’ll be a very successful venture; the film has come out very well. It’s also been a while since a story on joint family–the base of this film–has come out. Bhanupriya plays Sathyaraj’s wife in the film. I also play Viji Chandrasekhar’s sister (who plays Sathyaraj’s other wife). It’s a character with a lot of scope for emotional drama. I’ve also got a scene which is vital to this film. She speaks the Tenkasi dialect in this film, and credits director Pandiraj for helping her out with the lines. He’s very patient and dedicated, says Bhanupriya, adding that working with such a large ensemble cast–as many as 30 actors–was a wonderful experience.

The actor, who starred alongside Sivakumar in the 1993 film Porantha Veeda Puguntha Veeda, is working with Sivakumar’s son Karthi for the first time. Karthi is very humble. Working with him was very easy, says Bhanupriya, who is paired again with Sathyaraj in the film after working with him in films such as Pudhu Manithan, Bramma, Therku Theru Machan and Jore. I’ve done many films with him and he’s a very jovial person. Working with him again after a gap was great fun. I have combination scenes for me with almost everyone. Bhanupriya, who played one of the leads in last year’s Magalir Mattum, doesn’t consider this phase to be her second innings. I prefer to call it a return after a small gap. I had to spend time with my daughter during the in-between years. Now, she’s in high school, and so she is more understanding and tells me to do these films.

That’s how Magalir Mattum happened. That film was also produced by Suriya’s 2D Entertainment. They’re doing wonderful films and the stories they choose are fascinating. Bhanupriya’s first film, Mella Pesungal, came out in 1983 and her career has spanned over 35 years. Thanks to God’s blessings, it has been a great journey. I’m happy with what I’ve done over the years and have no regrets. She’s in the elite club of stars who have acted in all four South Indian languages, including in Hindi. I had to work hard on Kannada and Malayalam films ad the languages were unfamiliar. I used to write my lines in English. Telugu is my mother tongue, so that’s not a problem.

Also, I studied Tamil as my second language, so Tamizhum saralama pesuven. The actor, who will next be seen in Sivakarthikeyan’s upcoming untitled film with director Ravikumar of Indru Netru Naalai fame, also worked with K Balachander, whose films are known for featuring strong female characters. Ask her what she thinks of the roles written for women these days and she says, A lot of films these days give importance to women but we also see some in which they just appear in songs. There were times when family films ruled the roost, then came the romance films, action films and recently it was horror films. Hopefully, films featuring strong women will become the template for a while at least. films, action films and recently it was horror films. If something works out, that will become the template for a while.

Source: The New Indian Express