The actress opens up about her comeback film, support from her best friend Suhasini Mani Ratnam
Sriya Reddy
She may have done only a handful of films in Tamil, but the impact the dusky beauty created with her two diversified roles in Thimiru and Kanchivaram was so phenomenal that one is forced to sit up and acknowledge her immense talents.An athlete and a former popular VJ, Sriya Reddy quit acting after her marriage to actor/producer Vikram Krishna, elder brother of actor Vishal, a few years ago.
After dabbling in the family business of production of movies for some time, the leggy lass has returned to don the grease paint once again. Reinstating the fact that ‘once an actor, always an actor’, Sriya speaks about her new flick, best friend Suhasini Mani Ratnam, her fitness mantra, striking a balance at home and how Vishal has been very encouraging while Vikram not happy on her coming back to films.
“After Kanchivaram which got me a lot of accolades, I got married and stopped acting. Though it was not a conscious decision to quit acting, I never got any exciting offers. And after doing films which had author backed roles, I can’t settle for lesser ones,” she says starting our conversation. She quickly attributes yet another reason for her abrupt break from movies. “After marriage, people were so scared to approach Vikram and Vishal and often ended up getting a negative reply ‘madam is not reachable’ from some insignificant people who hang around in our office. I realised this much later,” she laughs. All said and done, it was her close buddy Suhasini Mani Ratnam who persuaded her to follow her dreams.
“She constantly encouraged me to do what I wanted to. She used to say, ‘don’t leave your acting, you will regret it later’. I admire Suhasini for her continuous involvement in the film industry in one way or other. That’s why she commands respect in her individual capacity,” says Sriya. Sriya took her friends’ advice and started looking after the production ventures of her family, but her heart was always in acting. Fortunately, good offers came knocking.
“I did get something very interesting that nobody could even dream off. It’s not a big film, but a trending one in Tamil cinema in terms of content. It has a woman-centric theme set against a backdrop of Theni and I play the title role. It is a simple yet powerful story happening in a day’s time. There’s a lot of humour. My character is a gutsy woman and not typical heroine role. I too haven’t done the routine running-around-trees kind of a character so far,” she says without revealing its title or director. But denies it is Thimiru 2. “I call myself ‘Thimiru’ and symbolically put my FB status as ‘Thimiru Returns’, she laughs. She also admits that the character she played in Thimiru was her real self. “At home, I am what I am. I am a strong headed person and can’t mince words. Everyone knows that ‘they can’t mess with this lady’.”
How did everyone react to her return? “Oh, my husband was not happy. He is a typical Andhra Reddy boy who is averse to my acting comeback. But Vishal was supportive and said, I should not let the opportunity go as it was a fantastic script.”
Being a former test-cricketer’s daughter, Sriya has always been an athlete from school. “I am a fitness maniac and my life is dedicated to fitness. Would you believe that I walked 20 minutes the day I delivered my daughter Amalia? I got back to shape in just 3 months. I can even give a fitness regime to my six-pack brother-in-law Vishal. My daughter is two and a half years old now and six days a week, her routine is set with school and other classes. I’m extremely house proud and love to keep a beautiful home. I’m an art connoisseur too,” she says.
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