She is a style icon for young girls, and mothers find her to be a sweetheart. Men are effusive about her beauty and boldness, while filmmakers applaud her acting talents. National award-winning actress Priyamani, who has been in the television and film industry for decade, is liked by all. It is her appearance as a judge in a dance reality show that has brought her closer to the people of Kerala. This dazzling actress says her decision to be part of the D4 Dance show was spot on for her.
“I feel happy that they now accept me as a girl-next-door. They watch me every day on TV and I have become a familiar face which I may not have been had I appeared in a film once in six months. People of Kerala have love the D4 Dance show more than me,” she says excitedly. Priyamani also judges a Kannada Dance reality show, Dancing Stars.
With her attractive dressing style and stunning accessories, Priyamani is a role model and inspiration for many young girls in South India. “Every day, I receive numerous messages through social media congratulating me on my outfits and jewellery. For this, I must thank my designers Poornima Indrajith and Mehak Naveen Shetty, my make-up artists and crew. They really do a great job of making me look gorgeous,” she says with a smile.
In fluent Malayalam, the dancing diva points out that television shows have helped her polish her Malayalam. “During my early days in Mollywood, I could not speak Malayalam, but the TV programmes and frequent interactions with the team have tremendously improved my comfort level in the language.”
Though her dancing skills in films like Chennai Express have been applauded all across India, Priyamani does not call herself a dancer. “All I do is move according to the rhythm of the music and I enjoy doing that. I have loved dancing since I was a child and I watch a lot of dance shows. I used to take part in all extracurricular activities in my school and college, especially those related to dance. After that I was lucky enough to dance for some of south India’s prominent choreographers and even did a session with Shiamak Davar.”
The actress, who took a conscious decision not to choose roles that are similar and to do only roles that would give her satisfaction as an actor, has two Malayalam projects in the pipeline that she does not want to talk about. “I guess it is the directors of the films who should first talk about the films. My Kannada film, Katha Chithrakatha Nirdeshana, a horror-comedy will be released soon and the shooting for my Telugu film will begin in July.”
