Sai Dhansika: Placing scripts above the rest

Actress Sai Dhanshika’s career took a turn for the good, post her stint alongside Rajinikanth in Kabali. The actress, whose kitty is full with eight films including Uru, a thriller, has also bagged a bilingual movie Solo with Malayalam star Dulquer Salmaan, which is directed by Bejoy Nambiar. In an exclusive to DC, she talks about what she has to offer this year.

“Many have misconstrued Uru as a horror thriller. But, it is a psychological thriller and I play the wife of a struggling writer essayed by Kalaiyarasan. I have undergone several hardships both physically and mentally since the movie was shot in Kodaikanal during December at 4°C,” Dhanshika starts her conversation.
She quickly adds, “You know what? When director Vicky approached me with the script, he said he kept me in mind and wrote the script. It feels heartwarming when filmmakers say that they are writing scripts for me. I thank them for the kind of trust they have in me. That gives me more drive to accept challenging roles.”
However, Dhanshika says that it’s content that matters to her — “Irrespective of mature characters or older roles, I still want to listen to the script and if it is good, I give my nod.”

So, how does she feel if the film fails despite hard work and effort — like her recent Enga Amma Rani? “Some films will get popularity; some give me respect.  Rani…belonged to the second category and I am happy it earned me lot of appreciation,” she responds.

The actress’ next is the  movie Solo with M’town heart-throb Dulquer Salmaan. “Director Bejoy Nambiar has given me a wonderful character in Solo. I play a visually-challenged contemporary classical dancer. The story has four versions, and my character appears in the third segment.”

Although she doesn’t give out much on the film, she reveals her preparations for the role —“They arranged a workshop with Subadra, a theatre personality who was a nurse before entering cinema. When she was a nurse, she handled many visually-impaired patients. She taught me the nuances of my role. I also wrote the Malayalam dialogues in English and went through them before shoot.”
She is all praise for her co-star Dulquer, “He is a gem of a person and I was surprised by the way he was treating everyone alike. Despite his stature, he is very grounded.”

On her future projects, she says, “I am doing a Tamil- Telugu film Vaalu Jada in which I play a physical trainer, who is socially-inclined and motivates women. Directed by Ramana, the film is about women empowerment and he has done vast research on the subject for the last seven years. Then there is the Kannada-Telugu film Udgharshana with Anoop Takur Singh directed by Sunil Kumar Desai. In Tamil I have Uru, Kaalakoothu and Kaatthadi all awaiting release.”