When acting happened just by chance'

Anupama Parameshwaran is Telugu cinema’s new favourite! All of her three Tollywood films A.. Aa.., Premam and Satamanam Bhavathi have gone on to become big box-office successes. And now, among many other Telugu films that she has bagged, Vunnadi Okate Zindagi is ready to hit theatres on October 27.
The actress says, “I play Mahalakshmi, a proper Telugu girl. The film is about love and friendship.”

Although Anupama has played the female lead in most of her films, it has always been alongside another actress. Does this create an environment of insecurity for her? “I always believe the story is the hero and everyone is playing an important character. So I only think about how much impact my role creates on the audience. People still talk about my role Nagavalli in A.. Aa.”

Notably, even in two of her upcoming films, she will be seen sharing screen space with other actresses. “I don’t give importance to the word ‘heroine’; I feel that I am playing a character and only focus on my role,” she says. Anupama is also quick to add that she always maintains good relationships with the other actress. “I generally don’t socialise and have limited friends. But I have a good relationship with all my co-stars,” she shares.

In a short span of two years, Anupama has become well-versed with Telugu and has even lent her voice for all her roles. She says, “The Telugu audience has accepted me quickly and I like the language. Now it is like my second home and the love and respect they’ve given me is unimaginable.” Another admirable thing about the actress is that she has given her own voice for all of her films in all languages. “For all my films, the directors have asked me to give my voice for the roles. It was not easy and I have to work very hard. But it gives me immense satisfaction at the end of the day. I learnt a lot through this process as an actor too,” she explains.

Revealing that acting happened to her just by chance, Anupama shares, “I made my debut with the Malayalam film Premam. It’s a miracle and before that film, I had never thought about acting as no one from our family had a film background. I am a normal middle-class girl and I never dreamt that I would become this big. It happened just by chance and it is a blessing. Only few people get such a chance and I feel that since this opportunity has been given to me, I have to utilise it well.”

No wonder then that the actress enjoys working and keeping busy with multiple projects. “After a hectic schedule abroad for my upcoming film and promotions for another film, I've just got back home. The actress adds that she knows actresses like Nivetha Thomas, Sai Pallavi and Keerthy Suresh, who are quite good at what they do. “When they are giving fantastic performances, it motivates me and the others to do different kind of roles and perform well,” says Anupama, adding, “When I like others’ films, I send them messages. I, too, get a lot of messages for my films from others.”