Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
Music has no language. That's something I've come to believe in even more ever since 'Kolaveri Di' happened. I don't deliberately make separate Tamil, Hindi, or Telugu tracks.
I'd love for Samantha to continue acting after our marriage. She has worked hard to achieve her stardom. Unlike me, she had no family empire to back her career in Telugu cinema.
I find the working pattern to be the same in Bollywood as well as Tollywood. Especially because most directors of photography from the Telugu industry operate in Bollywood, too.
I have read Omar Khayyam's 'Rubaiyat' in translation and marvelled at the emotions and its universal appeal and dreamt of authoring such a work in Telugu. 'Pyaasa' is the result.
Although I am a Telugu girl, I never felt that my debut in Telugu was delayed. I always wanted to be part of a good script, and I am pleased that 'Goodachari' hit the right notes.
Recently, I read a quote which said that if a woman is beautiful, she's called an Angel' in English and a Bapu Bomma' in Telugu. I think that sums up the legacy he has left behind.
When I was approached by Star MAA to host 'Bigg Boss,' the biggest-ever show on Telugu Television, I was intrigued by the challenge. I believe that the show will be a game changer.
After I met Ajay Bhuyan, we thought of making the English TV show 'Prison Break' as a Telugu film. Ajay put it all down, but somehow, we felt it would not work. Then 'Dhada' emerged.
'Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi' has a very nice subject which I think could be remade into a Hindi film. It was my first film in Telugu for which I got Filmfare Award for the best actress.
I have done 33 films in one year, for which I hold a Guinness Book World record. Plus I've done songs for all languages from Hindi to Malayalam, Punjabi to Telugu, and Kannada to Oriya.
Somehow I feel South Indian actors are not that well known in the Hindi belt. Tamil and Telugu actors have an upper hand. But Kannada and Kerala are totally sidelined by Hindi filmgoers.
When 'Yuganiki Okkadu,' the Telugu dubbed version of 'Aayirathil Oruvan,' released, I didn't like dubbing for my character. Someone much older had done it, and it didn't have the flavour.
In Telugu filmdom, audiences like to see their hero dance, fight and play a larger-than-life character. It's precisely why most of our commercial films do extremely well and get remade too.
I couldn't be happier starting 2019 with this film 'Haathi Mere Saathi.' It's the first time that I am doing a trilingual film which I'm excited about. It will be my Tamil and Telugu debut.
Commercial Bengali movies are all crass imitation of Telugu and Tamil movies. There are only a handful of directors like Rituparno Ghosh, Aparna Sen and Gautam Ghose who make quality films.
I'm quite fluent in Telugu now, but there's a difference between talking and dubbing. While dubbing, the diction must be in sync with the emotion in the scene and would impact my performance.
Trivikram garu is my inspiration to learn Telugu. When I made my debut I didn't understand a single word, even when people around me would be talking. Trivikram garu used to translate for me.
Every day I receive a lot of messages on Facebook from people of A.P. and Telangana, mostly about songs from my Telugu movies. From the messages, I get a lot of ideas about the music they like.
Of course, I will continue acting. I just need to dispel the Telugu and Tamil cinema's insecurities about married actresses. I don't know about others. But I am not going anywhere after marriage.
Tollywood is where I made a name for myself, and it's all thanks to the love and affection my fans have showered on me. The least I can do in return is to learn to speak the Telugu language correctly.
I so wish my dad was alive to see me do a Hindi film after acting in six Telugu movies. I sometimes imagine him giving me feedback on my work. But I derive strength from knowing he is watching over me.
I really respect Telugu cinema and the fact that people out here have a totally different style of working and are at par with Bollywood. Sometimes, they beat Bollywood with the kind of films they make.
Having done movies in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi, I have been accepted both in North and down South. I don't believe in divisions. I like to believe that I am working in the Indian film industry.
I got a sneak peek into the functioning of the film industries of the south through Telugu cinema. This industry has helped me understand how to adapt to various styles of filmmaking. It's been liberating.
I'm half Telugu. My mom is Telugu and dad, a Maharashtrian. I was brought up in Gwalior. I was exposed to English, Hindi, and Marathi. I heard my mom speak to her family in Telugu, so I got the hang of it.
Telugu cinema can really spoil you. They treat you like a queen. As soon as you get down from your van, they will all stand up, and they won't sit till you have passed by. I love that attention and miss that.
Even when I meet people, they start talking to me in Telugu, even though I'm a Kannadiga. But my character in Hello Guru Prema Kosame' will change that image of mine. You'll see me as an urban city girl in glamorous clothes.
I like Telugu movies, then comes Bollywood and then English movies. In Tollywood, I like Mahesh Babu and Prabhas. But no, I don't watch all their movies. I first find out if the movie is nice. If it's a flop, I don't watch it.
Honestly, and seriously, I know I have to do a Telugu film. It was my grandmother's dream to see me in a Telugu film before she died. I couldn't fulfil her dream before she passed away, but I don't want to let go of it, either.
Telugu and Tamil industries keenly watch Malayalam movies and are appreciative of the content, be it 'Ustad Hotel,' 'Premam' or 'Bangalore Days.' They've also been listening to our music. That's how I was approached for Telugu films.
I can never take a break from Telugu films, because they have given me a lot of recognition. No matter how busy I am or the number of films that I do elsewhere, I always keep my schedule free for at least two to three films in Telugu.
Telangana has been neglected and subjected to untold injustice for the last 50 years by successive ruling parties. But the maximum injustice was done to this region during the nine-year rule of Telugu Desam Party under N Chandrababu Naidu.
Shamna is a 'hot star' for Malayalis, but for my Telugu and Tamil audience, Poorna is a girl next-door. That is because I have mostly played village belle or de-glam characters in these industries. Whatever people's perception about me is I'm happy.
A lot of people tell me, 'You are from North; how do you manage to get along in the South?' I don't know what to say to them. I've always felt at home here, and by learning to speak Telugu, my connection with the place has gotten that much stronger.
I have worked really hard to reach where I am - I worked hard on my Hindi and diction because I am a Parsi and Hindi is not my strong point, and I've also learnt Tamil and Telugu because I want to get my lines right. I want to be known as a performer.
There are quite some interesting roles. Just take my career for instance. I played a vivacious aerobics instructor in Porki.' In my Telugu debut Bava,' I played a lively girl from a village. In Udayan,' my Tamil debut, I played a soft spoken Brahmin girl.
I was shooting for a Telugu film at the Taj Mahal in Agra, and there were all these women and children pointing and screaming, 'Rowdy Rathore.' But I am not really 'Rowdy Rathore.' I am the guy who did the original version of 'Rowdy Rathore' six years ago.
I never planned to become a dancer, but I became one. The same thing happened with acting and direction. I remember I was doing the choreography of a film, and the producer came and offered me to direct the film. It was in Telugu, and that is how it started.
I wanted to greet people in Telugu, so I asked someone how to say 'How are you' in Telugu. In fact, I instructed my entire staff to speak to me only in Telugu. So, there were times when I would ask them to translate certain words for me in Hindi, but the effort paid off.
A lot of people don't know that I had a special appearance in 'Keratam'; that was my first Telugu film. I only shot for four to five days. When they called me, I said, 'I can't give 60 days for a movie. If you have something for one week or 10 days, then I can accommodate.'
In Bollywood, you have to do one film at a time, and there are no mixed schedules. And doing four films at a time is out of the question. Telugu film industry works very differently. But the kind of films I'm getting here are better than what I've been offered in Bollywood.
When I first started out in Telugu cinema, I signed anything and everything that came my way. I was 18, was immature, and it felt like a good idea that 'Oh, they are paying me a good amount of money.' I was young, naive; I had zero ambition, and honestly, it wasn't my calling.
Telugu-Tamil producer Thyagarajan has bought the South Indian language rights for two Hindi hit films, Vikas Behl's 'Queen' and Neeraj Pandey's 'Special 26.' He wants me to play Akshay Kumar's role in the Telugu version of 'Special 26.' Akshay and I even look similar, physique-wise.
I must tell you that Telugu film industry is one of the most comfortable places I found a woman can be. They do make a lot of mass films, but from my experience as an actor, I can tell you that people are very nice and welcoming. In fact, it's slightly more difficult in other places.
One day, I went to meet a film producer and entered the wrong flat. It was a casting agency, and they suggested that I audition for a four-hero Telugu film. I was confirmed a month later. Interestingly, it's not easy down South for a newcomer to bag positive roles, but I was adamant.
I consider Rashi Khanna and Regina Cassandra as my best friends. They say there are three Rs in the Telugu industry: Rakul, Rashi, and Regina. All three of us debuted in the same year, and while we all compete for the same roles, we are still the closest, and we confide in each other.
It's been a long and wonderful journey for me but feels like it was just the other day when I started my career in films. I am very grateful to this wonderful Telugu cinema industry and the audience for all the love and unflinching support without which it would not have been possible.
Coming from the Malayalam sets, when I went to Telugu, people told me that I wasn't acting and that it felt dead. It was very subtle in Malayalam, while it is slightly dramatic in Telugu. It is quite fascinating to understand what each industry expects of you and work according to that.
Four of my films have been remade in Tamil and Telugu. Although I haven't seen any of these remakes, I do feel happy that I've been a part of good films. It's nice to know that some scripts still leave behind a mark after their theatrical run this way, so I have to admit, it is quite flattering.
Our idea to remake the Malayalam 'Premam' was not to make a better film than the original film or correct the mistakes they made or perform better than that hero. The soul of the Malayalam movie was taken and changed a bit to match with the Telugu sensibilities so that our audience can enjoy the movie.