Nayanthara

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Nayanthara excited for 'Electra'>>>>>

“I am doing this film purely for creative satisfaction, as it offers me an opportunity to showcase my histrionics skills,” she confesses. She is joining hands with award-winning filmmaker Shyamprasad for her maiden off-beat movie. So, that means she needed to put in more homework for that role. “I am excited that I am going to explore a new genre and the director is insisting on spontaneity. So, I intend to go to the sets with an open mind,” she adds.

Another reason for the paradigm shift in her thinking process, she elaborates is because, “In most star centric movies (both Tamil and Telugu), actresses are confined to dancing around trees. I think there’s need to add something more substantial to our roles rather than making us mere glam props in big-ticket films, or else actresses like us will be deprived of the opportunity to showcase our versatility. Invariably, we have to fall back on either author-backed roles or significant roles in small budget films.”

So is she gravitating towards performance-oriented roles, due to stiff competition offered by upcoming starlets? “Every year innumerable girls take their maiden bow in films, but only a handful leave their mark. Also newcomers have to put in years of hard work and display their staying power. It will take most of them sometime before they can reach our position, so there’s no question of any comparison with them. However, there are filmmakers who want established actresses to add brand value to their mega bucks movies, invariably approach us,” she says with relish.

Nevertheless, the dusky actress is ready to acknowledge the competition among A-line actresses like Shriya, Trisha and Anushka. “Everybody has their own space and one needs to respect and appreciate that. But having said that, I am done with making statements on the everchanging numbers game,” she reasons. Despite being part of the fabulous five (female stars) of T-town, Nayan is sharing screen space with two relatively small actresses in her latest flick. “I am not exactly sharing screen space with them, my scenes are confined to the flashback episode. However, my new avatar will grip the audience,” she points out.

Nayan has also been thumbing down plum offers in Tollywood of late. Is her interest in the local film industry diminishing? “No way! Telugu audiences have always given me a warm response, but I couldn’t accept the films I was offered for one reason or the other. Also I had to allotted more dates for a Kannada film,” she says. But is it worth bartering fat pay cheques and big star films for a small Kannada film? “Commitment is sacrosanct for me. I’ll go to any lengths to keep up my word. If I was just fascinated with pay packets, I would have done many small films revolving around me and shored up my bank balance. Though I like to work with big stars in Telugu, I weigh other issues before signing on the dotted line,” she says.

And what about B-town? “I am well-established and respected in southern cinema. I don’t feel the necessity to move to Bollywood. Maybe, I would have considered doing it, if I had got an offer, during my initial years. But now after attaining stardom here, I don’t want to be treated as a newcomer in Bollywood,” she explains. Nevertheless, she concurs, on the issue of short career spans of actresses down south. Is the 27-year-old actress wary? “I have no worries since I am flooded with offers from the southern states. However, the career span of actresses in southern cinema is gradually diminishing from 10 years to 5 years, but that’s because heroines are not given appropriate footage in the films. That’s why, I prefer to juggle with the languages films,” she says.

While her peers like Trisha and Shreya are endorsing brands, Nayan hasn’t joined the bandwagon. “So far, I wasn’t interested,but now I may give endorsing a thought, if I come across an exciting brand,” she reveals.

Despite rumours floating around about her and Prabhu Deva, she hasn’t denied them. “Rumours don’t bother me anymore. Some rumours are so weird that I don’t even react. For instance, I may be shooting in a particular place and I get to know that I am with my boyfriend somewhere else. Initially, I used to be disturbed with such baseless rumours, but now I ignore them. I think it’s the price one pays for being a celebrity. I have occasionally denied the allegations but I can’t be issuing denials every second day,” she confesses.