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on 2008/7/16 2:35:58
Lakshmi Rai is no stranger to movie-goers in the south, thanks to her films or the controversies she was allegedly involved in.
A Kannadiga, Lakshmi began her career on a high note with Karka Kasadara, a Tamil film, but hit a rough patch thereafter. “It was a very shaky period. I did work in movies in all four southern languages, but chose some wrong projects. Moreover, I was working with heroes who were much older than me. It actually forced me to take a break from the industry and reflect on what I was doing,” says the actress.
Now she is all set to make a comeback of sorts. “During this break from films, I concentrated on working for TV commercials. One of them, an ad for a major coffee brand, struck a chord with audiences and directors. And now better offers are coming in,” she says.
Lakshmi also says that she shares a love-hate relationship with the media, “They either write about my movies or some cooked-up controversies, be it the sex scandal or the various link-ups with people like Prakash Raj, MS Dhoni and now Sree Santh. But then I see every bit of press coverage as publicity and that’s how people know of an actress called Lakshmi Rai.”
The actress will soon be seen in a Tamil movie, Dhaam Dhoom, with Jayam Ravi and a Malayalam film, Parunthu, opposite Mammooty. But she’s even more thrilled about her impending Bollywood debut with Hey Gujju, in which she co-stars with Himesh Reshammiya. “Though director Satish Kaushik met me two years ago, it is only now that he found a character suitable for me. The role is more in the mould of Kajol’s in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai — a tomboy in the first half and then a demure soft-spoken girl in the other. We have already shot a couple of song sequences and working with Himesh was a nice experience. He is one of the most down-to-earth people I have ever met,” she says.
But Lakshmi says she won’t be moving to Bollywood. “I’m a true south Indian and the cinema here has been my bread and butter. I guess it will remain so,” she explains. Strangely, in the four years of her career, Lakshmi has only worked in three Kannada movies. “In the initial stages of my career, I hardly got any offers in Kannada. After Valmiki, I waited for a long time, hoping to make it in the Kannada industry. But since that didn’t happen, I moved to Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. It was only after I did well in other languages that I started getting offers for Kannada films again,” she states.
Lakshmi believes the Kannada industry does not encourage newcomers from Karnataka. “When I started off my career, there were established actresses like Rakshita, Ramya and Radhika, who were preferred by most filmmakers. Now that only Ramya is in the fray, they are looking for talent outside the state. This industry will never change. Now that I am back in favour with Kannada filmmakers, I will be choosy and do only those projects that I like,” says the actress, whose latest film Minchina Ota has just hit theatres.
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