Tollywood actress Priyamani is one of the lucky heroines to have two hits in Telugu now with more promising offers. Though she debuted with the washout film Evare.. Atagaadu!, she came back with a bang in the film Pellaina Kotthalo.
Background:
Though I was born in Palakkad in Kerala, I am not a Malayali - we are basically from Bangalore, and our family moved to Bangalore later. Then I came to Chennai, where I had a brief stint as a model. One of the cameramen there recomended me for the film Evare.. Athagadu!, and I was eventually selected. The film didn't do well, and I went back to Chennai. Bharathi Raja sir saw me in advertisements and offered me the Tamil film Kangalal Kaidhu Sei (2004), through which I was noticed, though the film was not a big hit.
I then became busy with Tamil films, and though I got some offers from Telugu films, I was not interested in taking them up, as they were all routine second heroine roles. Madan sir once saw my film Adhu Oru Kanaa Kaalam (with Dhanush under the direction of Balu Mahendra), and offered me the film Pellaina Kotthalo. The film was a super hit and got me Toss, Yamadonga, and the Mega Supergood Films project with Tarun.
About the heroes I worked with:
Tarak (NTR Jr.): He is very reserved. He used to say just a hi and a bye on the sets. When shooting is on, he is very involved in the film, and after a shot, he used to and sit with Rajamouli si''s family..and that's all! He is a great dancer and nice person, but is just the reserved type.
Jagapathi Babu: He is nice. He made me very comfortable and used to call me pokiri pilla, Rowdy, etc. while in the shoot. Though he is a senior artist, he never made that felt. He was quite very cooperative and friendly on the sets.
Raja: Raja is a very sweet person, who smiles at anything one says to him! In fact, most of his answers are just smiles. He became a very good friend of mine while shooting for the film Toss.
Upendra: He is another hero who does not have any hang-ups. He is really down to earth, and if he starts laughing, he keeps on laughing. He is not the same person as he appears in the film. Being an accomplished director himself, he also helps the director with valuable suggestions and shot-making. He is really a sweet person off the screen.
Vallabha (of Evare... Athagadu!): Vallabha and I were newcomers at that time. So we both are very much busy with the film and there is not much to know about each other while we are shooting.
Vishal: I had just completed the film with Vishal. He is very energetic and lively.Very comfortable to work with. He always plays pranks on the sets and is very down to earth person.Hope to work with him again!!
Tarun: He's an extremely friendly guy! We got along like a house on fire during the shoot.
...In Tamil, I also worked with Karthik Sivakumar (Surya's brother), Dhanush, Prithvi Raj...
Karthik Sivakumar: Extremely dedicated actor, very talented and very down to earth.
Dhanush: He was very reserved when I met him initially, and he's very focused on his work,and is a very intense actor!
Prithivaraj: He's very helpful and friendly too... he's a cool guy really!
Source:Telugucinema.com
