CHARMI INTERVIEW CONTI...

     

  People say that you are a fun loving girl and have no airs about you. What's life like after the day's shoot? Do you mix around with the crew?

"When I was a beginner I used to be very trusting and was quite open about matters but now I observe before I say anything".

Has anything happened to you for you to be wary?

"No, but you know how it is, when you are a rank newcomer you tend to take everything on face value but as you gain experience you become careful. I think as an actress I get to interact and study so many different kinds of people. No other walk of life offers you so many opportunities to study people up close"

Your first two films flopped. Bombed would be a more accurate term. How did you cope with early failure?

"I cried myself to sleep every night for a long time. I just could not take it. My heart felt like a lump of steel in my chest. You need a good support system to come out of that".

But you are back in the movies. What did you do?

"Over time I realised that I cannot be held entirely responsible. True I have to take a major share in the blame but then there are so many people involved in the making of a film. There is the script writer, the art director, the costumer and of course the Director himself. No actor or actress can be so arrogant and full of themselves to think that a film is carried entirely on his or her shoulders. Now I try and analyse the probable cause of failure. In hindsight you can see why it flopped" (smiles mirthlessly).

Ok. Let's get away from talking about your early failures. People always want to know how you girls pass time when you are not on the sets. Tell us about your favourite pastimes.

"I am a fitness girl. I am not a fitness freak but I like to look fit and the only way you can look fit is by exercising so I do a lot of workouts in the gym. I also read. I always carry a good book on the sets so time flies. I can cook too. I do pretty good non vegetarian stuff".

Do you have problems moving about in Hyderabad?

No I don't. Actually that is the problem. I don't get mobbed. I wish I were popular enough to be. Once I went to the Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada. Not a single person recognized me. My ego was crushed until I decided to roll along the temple parikrama. That's when I got recognized. That felt good too.

Let us know about the men in your life. You have a lot of male fans out there who will want to know that.

 

"I am so sorry to disappoint them. I don't have any special man friend".

You won't be disappointing them. They will be a relieved lot.

She smiles revealing a good set of teeth. She is an attractive girl and it is not for nothing that she has a fan following. Women also find her good looking which says a lot.

"My closest friends are my Dad and Krishna Vamsi. My Dad is wonderful but Krishna Vamsi put me straight. I had put on a lot of weight and it was his straight talking that made me loose weight. He actually told me that I if I stayed fat I would be unfit for cinema. That made me shape up in a hurry".

You said you read so can you tell me the title of a book you read recently?

"It may not be the last book I read but Shiv Khera's books motivate me a lot. I carry it around when I go on a shoot".

She is called for a shot but before she goes away I ask her who she thinks is good for her.
"Krishna Vamsi and Babu. They are the best" and with that she walks away