It is arguably one of the best times for actor Priyamani, who is currently enjoying significant success in Bollywood. After Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jawan, which was released in December last year, her first Hindi film of this year, Article 370, opened to positive reviews. This month, the actor returned to the big screen once again with her latest film, Maidaan, a period drama, which also stars Ajay Devgn.
The film is based on Syed Abdul Rahim, a pioneering football coach in India from 1952 to 1962, and Priyamani portrays his wife, Saira. She describes Saira as someone who goes to any extent to realise her husband’s dreams. “She is the catalyst in his life but pulls the strings when needed. Her relationship with her husband is very pure and different from what it was during that era,” Priyamani adds.
Working with Devgn for the first time, she found him to be a man of few words. “During the shoot, we didn’t have an opportunity to sit down to talk and get to know each other a little better. But, we did discuss how the South industries work and spoke about some of the directors from the Southern industry,” Priyamani says, adding that it was during the promotions that she saw the lighter side of Devgn. “He’s a man of few words, but whatever he says makes so much sense. As an actor, he is simply par excellence,” she adds.
Priyamani’s current success in Bollywood is evident, and she has been unapologetically embracing it. “I’m fortunate enough that I got to be part of some wonderful projects where I got paired with big names. Also, I believe in the projects I do. That also plays a major factor but I’m very grateful that they thought of me to have
me as part of the project and think of me as a particular character that they want me to play,” says the National Award-winning actor. She continues, “I am glad that the project that I was working on finally saw the light of day, I mean, they really, were doing extremely well. Now it’s just onward and upward for me.”
In addition to Bollywood, Priyamani is active in various South Indian film industries. Every film industry is known for having a very distinctive work culture and Priyamani says it does not take her more than a day or two to get used to the new set up. “I try to get to know their vision and for me, it’s quite easy to adapt into it and carry on with the project,” she notes. Priyamani also mentions she has several projects that she has been listening to. “I’ll be able to announce the ones that have received the green light from production soon,” she concludes.
