Priyamani - Tamil Movie Actress Interview - Priyamani | Raavanan | Mani Ratnam



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Interviewer : Inian | Camera : Balaji | Text : Jyothsna Bhavanishankar

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ACTRESS PRIYAMANI

Priyamani who stole everyone’s hearts with her riveting performance as Muthazhagi in Ameer’s Paruthi Veeran has once again donned the role of a rural belle in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan(an). Her short but energetic cameo in the film has received good reviews. And here is Priya Mani sharing her Raavan(an) experiences with behindwoods.com viewers.

About Raavanan

If I have to talk about Raavanan, first of all I should speak about Mani sir’s direction. Raavanan is a fabulous film and is undoubtedly a feather in Mani sir’s cap. It is a visual treat for the audience which is the unanimous feedback I have been receiving from everyone and performances also have been appreciated. I am very happy about it.

About Vikram

He has done a wonderful job. Vikram is an actor par excellence and has overshadowed everyone. When we were rehearsing our combination scenes, he would react in a particular way but when he goes in front of the camera, it would be a different interpretation. He has lived up to the character of Veeraiyya.

Vikram is an actor par

excellence

Your co-stars

Aishwarya Rai has done an impressive job in both the versions. Vikram has also done the two versions as a suave police officer Dev in Hindi and Veera in Tamil. There is a clear cut differentiation of Veeraiya and Dev which he has brought about well. Abhishek has interpreted the character of Veera in his own unique fashion. Prithiviraj has also done his part well and towards the end there would be a shade of grey in his character which he has successfully essayed. I have done five films with Prithvi and he is a fantastic actor.

Your performance

People who have watched my performance are very appreciative of the same. I am very happy and the credit goes only to Mani Ratnam sir.

About other actors

Prabhu sir - what more can you say about this experienced artist? He has done a wonderful job. Karthik and his counterpart in Hindi Govinda also have done their roles well. In fact they are the comic relief in the film. Ravi Kissen has done the role of Prabhu in the Hindi version.

Mani sir told me “You are the

brightness of the film”

Working with Mani Ratnam

As a film, Raavan(an) is a complete one and has different shades. When it comes to other characters, it is black, white and grey but whereas my portion has color in it. Mani sir told me “You are the brightness of the film”. I immediately agreed as I wanted to have the experience of working in a Mani Ratnam film. And it was great working and I would love to work with him again.

Cinematographers Santosh Sivan and Manikandan

Definite mention should be made of these two pillars of the film. They have worked equally hard to get the visuals so beautiful. All the locations are in India. They have shot in Malshej Ghat which is 3 hours from Mumbai, outskirts of Kolkata; my portions have been shot in Orchha in Madhya Pradesh. In addition, they have shot in Athirapally falls, Chalakudy area in Kerala, Hogenakkal falls. The locations have been portrayed beautifully through the lens of Sivan and Mani K. But Mani sir can only find such locations. Through him only we understood that such places exist in India.

Mani sir can only find such

locations

Mani Ratnam and Ameer are

completely different from each

other

Compare Mani Ratnam with Ameer

Mani Ratnam and Ameer are completely different from each other. The similarity lies in the fact that they are very fond of realism and dissuade the artists from ‘acting’ too much. While working for Paruthi Veeran, I needed to learn the Madurai dialect which I was not familiar with. He used to sit with me and teach the voice modulations. Even while I was dubbing for the film, he helped me a lot and taught me where I should raise my voice and where it should be softer or

huskier. On the other hand, Mani sir had explained to me about the Vennila that he had visualized but at the same time was open to improvisation on my part. He was always for a realistic portrayal. Even while we were speaking our dialogues, he was not keen that we mouth verbatim what was given to us. We are given the liberty to speak our own dialogues which are in sync with the situation. Both the directors are great and are unique in their own way.

Raavan(an) in a nutshell

Raavan(an) as such is a fabulous film. Raavanan should be enjoyed without analyzing it critically. I saw both the versions and I really loved them. I am happy to share my views with behindwoods.com viewers. Please watch the film in theatres.

Raavanan should be

enjoyed without analyzing

it critically