It was only recently that Raai Laxmi made her foray into B’town with Akira, which has AR Murugadoss wielding the megaphone. The actress has now bagged yet another film in Hindi — she is all set to play the title role in Julie 2, which will have Deepak Shivdasani, who directed Neha Dhupia-starrer Julie a decade ago, at the helm. All excited about the project, Laxmi says the film is special owing to one more reason — it marks the 50th movie in her career, which spans all industries down south. The actress who plays a naïve, girl-next-door in the movie, will be seen wearing a bikini for the first time and so is busy toning up for it.
Laxmi opens up, “I wanted my 50th movie to be a special one — a film which would have all the commercial ingredients in the right proportions. I had heard 10 scripts for this personal milestone. But I never expected that it would turn out to be a Bollywood film — that too in a role which has ample scope to perform. It couldn’t get bigger than this. We will start shooting in October and its first look will be unveiled around the same time.”
It was Tollywood director Meher Ramesh who suggested that the actress hear the film’s script. The film, according to her, will be close to her heart, since she finds its script to be real. She says that audience can easily connect to the movie, which apparently has nothing to do with the original Julie. Laxmi details, “The movie dwells on a simple girl turning into an actress, and the drama that follows. In fact, the second half of the movie will have some edge-of-the-seat sequences. The film will throw light on what actresses gain and lose in their profession. I’m sure actresses will get more respect from audiences after the movie’s release.”
Laxmi has been working on her figure for a month and has enrolled in weight training, pilates, zumba and martial arts to get into the shoes of the character. “I’m spending almost 15 hours a day on my workout. This is the first time I’ll be seen wearing a bikini — the script demanded it and I’m sure it will look amazing on screen,” she says.
Though there are a few other offers from B’town, Laxmi says that the south will always remain her priority, as she is known as a southern actress up north. “I’m what I am today because of the films I have done in the south. I will never say ‘no’ to interesting projects from the south,” she says.
