I don’t want to give up on one skill for the sake of another: Padmapriya

"Shooting for the film was different. There were no inhibitions that come from your respect towards veteran actors and directors. Everything was more relaxed,” says Padmapriya. The film also stars Fahad Faasil, Jayasurya, Lal, Isha Sharvani and Reenu Mathews among others."

The actress is known for her choice of unusual and bold characters. She says such offers come to her because of the trust directors repose in her. “When a director looks at me, he sees his character. In every film, I sport a different look for each character. It’s almost as if my features change to accommodate the characters. A lot of the credit goes to the directors for bringing out the best in me but we too have to do our homework. That is why I always work better when I get the movie’s script in advance. This helps me think about the character and give it more depth. It’s like living with a person. 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,” she adds.

As in reel life, in real life too, Padmapriya takes the road less travelled. She recently completed a course in MPA from the US. Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, former CIA director David Petraeus, President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf are all MPA graduates.

However, the actress says the scene is different in India. “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. I don’t want to give up on one skill for the sake of another. I have worked with many NGOs and research organisations before. It has always been another side of my life and always will be. However, you can’t expect to get the same perks for an MPA in India as one would in a place like New York. Here the government is not as accessible. 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,” she says, revealing her geeky side.

Does the ‘actress’ tag come in the way of her work in other industries? “Earlier, I used to work with an organisation in Andhra and since I haven’t done many Telugu films, they didn’t even know I was an actress. It was at this time that I did a Telugu movie and they were like ‘Oh, you are an actress?’ and that was it. In the research organisation I’m working right now, many are foreign nationals. So there your status as an actress doesn’t matter. Even the people who know you are an actress don’t make much of it because of the serious business involved.”