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Shraddha Srinath: Nivin Pauly is an incredible actor

Shraddha Srinath: Nivin Pauly is an incredible actor

 

Shraddha is a lawyer-turned-actor. Her recent release in Kannada, 'U-Turn' garnered rave reviews for her performance and is cited as the reason behind her bagging the film opposite Nivin Pauly. In a chat with Shankaran Malini from Asianet Newsable, Shraddha reveals more.

 

Here are the excerpts from the interaction.

 

How the Kollywood offer came about?
Gautham (the director) spotted me on a talent management website, contacted me through them and called me for an audition. This was in February 2016. It was my first ever Tamil film audition and personally I thought it wasn't my best audition. After the audition, Gautham said he would show my audition tapes to his team and call me back for a second round if they like it. After two months, Gautham called me for a second round of audition in April. This time I was keen on acing my audition so I tried and perfected the dialogues with the help of my Tamil speaking friends. After this audition, I was satisfied with my performance and I thought to myself; even if I don't get selected for this film, I'm glad I gave it my best. Within two weeks of this, Gautham confirmed me.

 

A promising offer?

I'm over the moon to be making my Tamil debut and more so because it's such a fantastic team. Gautham is a director with a very clear mind and he knows exactly what he wants. And then there's Nivin Pauly. He's such an incredible actor. Its hard for me to believe this is actually happening. Tamil Cinema is known to have some very brilliant minds and technicians. I hope I get to work with them and learn.

 

Nivin Pauly's next is a remake of a Kannada film Ulidavaru Kandanthe
I have not watched the original Kannada film yet which in a way is good because I want to essay the character in a unique way and not be influenced. The filmmakers were not picky about the actress belonging to any particular industry. 

 

Fluency in Tamil
I understand Tamil, I don't speak it too well. I am learning Tamil. I am also watching a lot of Tamil films and seeking help from my Tamil speaking friends. Gautham has sent me my dialogues and voice recordings of the same to help with pronunciation etc. My preparations have already begun.

 

U-Turn and Shraddha's performance
The response I've received for my performance in 'U Turn' has been warm and most encouraging. People have loved the movie, which is all we ever wanted, and people appreciating my performance has been a bonus. To debut in a film where the heroine plays the protagonist is a rarity. It was a huge responsibility but I'm glad my hard work paid off. I hope to deliver more such performances in the future. 

 

About co-star Nivin Pauly
I only know of Nivin Pauly as Nivin Pauly the actor. I've been following his work ever since 'Premam' and I think he's tremendously talented. I am really looking forward to working with him and also learning a lot from him. As far offers in Mollywood is concerned, nothing new is happening in Mollywood as of now.

 

Being an Army kid and getting into films
I'm an army kid and I was raised all over the country - in the hills, in the desert, in forests, in quaint towns no one has heard of. Growing up like this was a dream, an adventure. We moved to a new place every two years. I've wanted to become an actor since I was ten years old.  After finishing my 12th, I came to Bangalore to study law. During my college years I started acting in professional theatre productions and that's when I realised that the purpose of my life was to act. I graduated from law school and got a law job too, but I continued acting in plays. I had decided very early on that someday I'd want to quit everything and take up acting full time and retire as an actor someday. Until one fine day in January 2015 I got an email regarding auditions for Kannada film. This came out of nowhere, because I never had planned to do films, I'd only wanted to act on stage. I didn't even think I was heroine material, I'd never applied for any casting call etc. I went for the audition and the team seemed legit with some big names on board. A few days later, they informed me that I'd been selected. I told this to my family and confessed to them that I wanted to quit my job and take up acting full time. My family supported me completely and soon enough, I'd quit my job. It's been a wonderful journey so far and I've been fortunate to meet some very interesting and passionate people. My father is a retired Army officer, my mom was a teacher. I have an older sister who works at bookmyshow and my brother in law is an architect. I also have a two year old niece. I studied all over India. Changed nine schools. After 12th I studied law from Bangalore Institute of Legal Studies. 
 

I'm not a lawyer anymore.

I am by education, but not by profession. The day I quit my job as a lawyer, I decided to never go back to the profession again, only because my heart was not in it and I had found my happiness and passion in acting. 

 

Perosnal interests and diet and fitness
I love to travel and I love listening to music. I love watching movies and TV shows. I dabble in some daily stuff at times. I follow a very simple but strict high protein-low carb diet. I work out regularly when I'm not shooting.

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