'Miss India' is a woman's challenging journey: Keerthy Suresh

Star actress Keerthy Suresh was catapulted to the big league by 'Mahanati', for which she won a National Film Award for Best Actress. 'Miss India' is her latest movie. Directed by Y Narendra Nath, Mahesh Koneru has bankrolled the film on his East Coast Productions. The female-centric drama, made on a high budget and boasting of rich production values, is set to be premiered on Netflix from November 4. Ahead of the film's release, Keerthy Suresh has interacted with the media in a webinar.

Excerpts:

'Miss India' is my second direct OTT release. We all know the difficulties that the film industry is going through due to the pandemic. In this scenario, taking our film to the audience is the utmost priority. Given the limited options we are left with, I am glad that my film is getting released on OTT.

After 'Mahanati', I have not been disinclined towards doing commercial movies. I am glad that lady-oriented subjects have been offered to me. I latched on to 'Miss India' because the story and my character are exciting.

Coming to the premise of 'Miss India', it's about an aspirational woman who sets up a chai chain in a foreign country, where coffee shops rule the roost. As a middle-class Indian entrepreneur, she is determined to shine in the world of business. When she starts a chai chain, she is confronted with a number of challenges. How she overcomes them is what the film is about. It's her challenging journey. When the title of the film was announced, many assumed that it's about a beauty pageant or something. But after the trailer was out, the nature of the subject became clear.

This is director Narendra Nath's first movie, but it didn't matter to me. I weighed my options only by the script. His vision and passion are commendable. I loved the way he narrated the story. He has got attention to detail.

I started working out more after the release of 'Mahanati'. 'Miss India' is one of the reasons why I slimmed down a lot. The director had told me that I need to look slim so any dress would fit me.

Producer Mahesh Koneru approached me for 'Miss India' because, having watched 'Mahanati', he felt that only I can do full justice to the character. Above all, I liked the story. The producer has ensured that the production values befit the script.

I have started to feel more responsible after 'Mahanati'. My determination to be a perfectionist goes up if it's a female-centric movie with the aim of exploring myself as an actor. I am open to doing web-series provided the concept/story is good and my feature film schedules are not affected.

I am happy about teaming up with Mahesh Babu sir for the first time. I will join the shoot of 'Sarkaru Vaari Paata' in January.

After 'Miss India', my immediate next release is going to be 'Good Luck Sakhi'. Besides 'Sarkaru Vaari Paata', I will also be seen in (Rajinikanth's) 'Annaatthe'. I am also in talks for a Tamil film and two Telugu films.