“There was a time in 2021, one of the busiest years of my career, when I would take stock of the films I was doing and think to myself ‘my life doesn’t matter at all’,” said actor-singer Shruti Haasan. She was doing back-to-back films for Telugu entertainers voltair veeraiah co-starring Chiranjeevi and Veera Simha Reddy Co-starring Balakrishna, then heading to Greece eye, a female-centric independent English film. “Two months later, I was dancing on ice (for voltair veeraiah ‘Nuvvu Sridevi Nenu Chiranjeevi’ song). Movies are a different world,” Shruti says over the phone, her voice still cracking and coughing after a viral infection.
talking about Veera Simha Reddy And voltair veeraiah, which opened to packed houses during Sankranti as expected, Shruti is candid to admit that she signed these films because they were “big-ticket projects and made on a large scale.” “Honestly speaking, I am getting different reactions for both the films. people expected to see more of me Veera Simha Reddy, I have known Gopi (director Gopichand Malineni) for years and I know that the film centers on Balayya. Garu; His fans are very happy. Similarly Chiranjeevi sir’s fans are also happy voltair veeraiah, Both these films were designed to celebrate their respective stardom, talents and careers. I haven’t been a part of big projects for a while. i filmed crack Mostly in 2019, although it was released in 2021. Returning to Telugu cinema after a while, I wanted to be a part of bigger films and I am grateful for the opportunities.
stepping into the shoes of sridevi
Shruti Haasan in ‘Nuvvu Sridevi Nenu Chiranjeevi Song’ from ‘Waltair Veeraiya’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Shruti says she enjoyed her role within the limited scope she had Voltaire… The sequence that “drove him crazy” was a reprise of Sridevi’s dance moves from the song ‘Abbani Teyani Debba’. Jagadeka Veerudu Athilok Sundari, “I’m usually playing for a challenge, but this was scary, though it was for a few seconds. Sridevi ma’am has been a big part of my family history. My dad (Kamal Haasan) has worked with her in many films. I have heard a lot about him from him and my mother (Sarika).
Coincidentally for Shruti’s hairstylist Voltaire… Has worked with Sridevi before “She told me I couldn’t style my hair like Sridevi’s because she used rollers and her hair texture was different. He also told me how Sridevi’s make-up was done. While performing this segment, I was deeply saddened that she is no more and became more aware of the impact she left on Indian cinema.
a sequence in Voltaire… Presents Shruti in action mode. What if he is offered a full action entertainer? “I’d love to do it,” she replies. “I am a hyper and physical person and love to dance or perform stunts. In a world where violence against women is highly prevalent, the story of an action film with a female character needs to be relevant and well written.
The on-screen age difference between Shruti and Balakrishna and Chiranjeevi has been one of the talking points of Sankranti films. “When the producer and director are convinced about the casting, I think it is their job to make the audience believe that the on-screen pairing works, not mine. I signed films because I know the value of big films. salar (directed by Prashant Neel and starring Prabhas) was still in the making. So I said yes to these projects and coincidentally both were released for Sankranti.
This is Shruti’s 14th year in cinema. As she shifts between mainstream Indian entertainers, an independent English film and independent music, she says it is easy to switch between different fields of work because she is an “Aquarian”. “I can’t think of any other reason. Aquarians are hard to put in a box. I constantly look for different things to do. I’m poor at planning my career. I wonder when I I look up to the next generation of actors who know what kind of films to do at what stage in their careers. My choices have been impulsive. If I were the cook, you can never guess which one I would put on the table. Will bring food
camaraderie at work
move on to discuss eyeA psychological thriller produced by Melanie Dix and directed by Daphne Shamon with screenplay by Emily Carlton, Shruti says she wanted to work with a female director after years of working with Aishwarya Rajinikanth for a Tamil film. 3, “The writer and director have known each other since they were kids. There was a pre-existing brotherhood that I stepped into. I believe in sisterhood. When women share stories from a place of empathy, it’s wonderful,” says Shruti, pausing and adding, “I don’t mean like a pagan witch, but we are the product of the ancestors of the women who came before us. . When women tell stories, there is so much depth and weight to it. When a team of women decides to work together, there is no rivalry, no chink in the armour.
Shruti Haasan | photo credit: Adrien Sequeira
Working with male writers and directors, she finds that she often has to interpret a female character on her own. for eye, she had extensive discussions with the women of the core team as to why a female character behaves in a certain way. Incidentally, Shruti’s 2022 independent music video titled ‘She is a Hero’ raised a toast to women.
She believes that unlike cinema, where an actor steps into a pre-written role, music is a big part of him expressing himself. Her lyrics may be semi-autobiographical but she leaves some “emotional space” for the listener to step in and connect with. “I am grateful and blessed that I was born in a film family. But somewhere I realized that I had not lived up to the expectations. Music gives me the space to be myself. I love the light because I have learned to appreciate my shadow. I like to show my gray areas in my music as well.
reorganize and reinvent
Shruti took a break of two years after 2017 and when she returned, she worked in Anthology. (putham pudhu kalai in tamil and pitta kathlu in Telugu), explored more independent music than ever before and featured in mainstream films). She seems to be enjoying this phase of her career and it becomes imperative to ask if the break helped her rethink her approach towards life and work. Shruti agrees and gives the example of Madonna, “Recalibrate is really the word,” which she listened to while growing up. “Maybe someone young will look to Beyoncé as an example. I’m citing musicians as an example because their approach to music and albums changes over time. When they work on a new album, they don’t just wear new clothes and hire new songwriters. This change is a result of the conversations they have with themselves about what they want to be doing at a certain stage in life for the next five or 10 years.
Shruti doesn’t have a five-year or 10-year plan, but she felt the need to recalibrate and grow. “I wanted to look at my life with a new lens.” She now wants to work on content based cinema, collaborate with new talents and reinvent herself. “Since we have become accustomed to doing something, it is initially challenging to reinvent ourselves. But we need to do it.