Trivikram made an irresistible offer'

The latest Pawan Kalyan entertainer, Agnyaathavaasi, that opened on Wednesday, marks the return of veteran Tamil actress Khushbu to Telugu cinema after almost a decade.

In an exclusive interview, Khushbu explains why she chose to make a comeback with this particular film.

The 47-year-old actress, who’s last Telugu film was S.S. Rajamouli’s fantasy-action comedy Yamadonga in 2007, says, “I have been away from cinema, not just Telugu cinema, for a long time. For me to do a film again, especially in Telugu, it was very important that I played a very vital role. And I loved my role in Agnyaathavaasi when director Trivikram approached me with it.” In fact, Khushbu, who at  one  point did  films simultaneously  in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and  Kannada , reveals the director was very adamant that she did this role.

The actress further says that doing a role after 10 years was a big deal, which is why it had to be ‘special’. “Agnyaathavaasi is that special one. The entire set-up was very appealing and eventually rewarding. Trivikram had offered me films earlier but I was not very keen then as I did not like the roles. This time he came to me and said, ‘Ma’am, you cannot say no to this.’ And I didn’t. How could I? He made an offer I couldn’t resist,” shares Khushbu.

Mentioning how she loved working with Pawan Kalyan, the Mumbai-born actress says, “Pawan is a very cool costar. He’s a man of a few words but very comfortable to work with. The crew treated me like a member of their family.”

Sadly, in the film, Khushbu has not been able to dub her own Telugu lines. “I speak Telugu very well. But my voice was dubbed by Sarita. Does that take away from my performance in Agnyaa-thavaasi? No, I don’t think so! The character needed a voice like Sarita’s,” she concludes.