Swathi: Can’t do what a top heroine does

First it was Devi Sri Prasad and now Nikhil; I’m tired of setting the record straight. I don’t even come out of my home when I’m in Hyderabad and I don’t even talk to Nikhil - Swathi

For a long part of last year, actress Swathi was cut off from the Telugu industry, concentrating on her Tamil and Malayalam endeavours besides her lone Telugu project ‘Karthikeya’. However, the actress is back as promotional duties of her long delayed ‘Bangaaru Kodi Petta’, slated to release this Friday, which has put her back on a flight to Hyderabad. “I never felt it was a one year wait until I’m reminded by public or for that matter scribes (laughs). More than being away from the industry, I was missing my Telugu lines the most,” she smiles.

The petite actress plays the role of an ambitious girl Bhanumati in the con drama. “She has lost her parents and stays with her sister and an alcoholic brother-in-law. A Class VIII fail, she works at a mall and dreams of leading a rich life. She finds some shortcuts to meet her ambitions and Navadeep, a petty thief, joins her,” she shares, while adding that the ego clashes with her co-star mark their relationship in the film. “There comes a point in a relationship where a couple goes through a love-hate phase and Raj Pippala (the director) has captured those (cute) moments pretty well.”

Insisting that the film is a pucca Telugu fare that spans around Sankranthi festival, she believes that it’s the “storytelling that would be the USP” of the film. “‘Swamy Ra Ra’ was labelled as another robbery drama that Ram Gopal Varma made two decades ago, but the way it was projected ensured people endorsed it.”

A Telugu girl who rose to top, she was hardly seen alongside A-listers barring appreciated cameos in ‘Kandireega’ and ‘Mirapakay’. Is she not getting roles alongside them or is she not finding them stuffy enough? “It’s a blend of both,” she responds. “I think the younger lot wants to work with me and the work that I’ve done till now proves it. Big stars have big heroines and I don’t think I can do what a top heroine does. Do you think I can do it?” she asks us.

There was a period where she was perplexed, she recalls. “After ‘Golconda High School’, many people came to me and suggested that I open a FB page and be regular on the page 3 circuit, so that I can get those big flicks. However, I’ve realised that if a script is good and the filmmaker is sound, it’s enough. I’m open to people who want to collaborate with me.”

A sensation on the idiot box before she made it on to the big screen, she foresees getting back to the TV fold again. “I want to make a comeback but I’ll take it slow. Small screen is strenuous and you have to do shows day after day. I don’t have that vigour right now but if I do something I want it to be hatke.”

Re-uniting with Nikhil again for ‘Karthikeya’ has sparked off rumours that the duo is dating, but she brushes the news aside. “First it was Devi Sri Prasad and now Nikhil; I’m tired of setting the record straight. I don’t even come out of my home when I’m in Hyderabad and I don’t even talk to Nikhil. Nobody is friends in the industry nor has anyone time to share your problems. People drop by sets, work and depart to home, that’s the way it works out here.”

Does that mean she is single? “Yes, absolutely,” she hits back. “I’ve left my marriage to my parents. It’s up to them to find a suitable guy for me (smiles merrily). They haven’t zeroed in on one yet but I think they will. Once I get married, I don’t see myself acting again,” she concludes.