Payal Rajput felt like being in ‘elite club’ in Oscar race
Young actress Payal Rajput was on cloud nine when her female-centric film ‘Mangalavaram’ wherein she played an author-backed role, was listed along with biggies like ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ and ‘HanuMan’. “I was on cloud nine when I received the news and shared it with my mother and friends,' says the actress with a glint of pride. Her film was a simple but hard-hitting village-centric story of a girl suffering from a disorder named Nymphomaniac with loads of twists and turns.
“It was a truly challenging role for me and I could do justice to it with the support of director Ajay Bhupathi who designed and executed it. In fact, when I did a bold role in ‘RX 100”, I became a star overnight, and now after this role, which could have turned erotic but still kept within limits, has established that I could do varied roles with ease,” she adds. Coming back to three films that were sent from Tollywood for Oscar nomination, ‘I was like, OH god, I am in the elite club of ‘Kalki 2898’ and ‘HanuMan’. While the former was a sci-fi thriller, the latter was a socio-fantasy. But still, our film was a gripping and mysterious thriller far away from these movies in terms of plot and treatment. Finally, the Hindi film ‘Laapata Ladies’ was selected for Oscars 2025 and I wish them good luck,’ she adds.
Right now, the actress completed Vipassana training which helped her to tackle a few tensions and now she has come out as a new woman and is raring to go. ‘Vipassana means to see things as they really are and this 10-day meditation program helped me to discover my true self. It shored up my memory, reduced my stress, and increased my mindfulness. In simple words, meditation is the pause button for our chaotic lives,” she informs. She claims that after the course, she has received positive vibes around her and even the Oscar thing came during that time. “I am rejuvenated and feeling positive vibes around me,’ she informs.
On the work front, the actress is in talks with director Ajay Bhupathi and they could probably do a sequel to 'Mangalavaram' “The Director told me that he is working on the script so nothing is finalised yet since he is going to do another film in between, ‘she explains.
However, she has taken up an action-centric role in a Tamil film with director Senthil and the action-adventure is being shot in Georgia. “I have to do kick-ass action sequences and also undergo some training to get my kicks and punches right. It’s a very different film and I am enjoying doing a Tamil film. I have a few offers from Telugu but I haven’t picked anyone yet,” she concludes.