Opening Doorz

By Martin D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | September 25, 2019

Last week, Priya Anand completed 10 years in the film industry down South. Last week, she also celebrated her birthday and was bowled over by the love she received from the audience who have been with her in this decade-long journey. Non-controversial, non-intrusive [in your social space], away from manipulated stories to stay relevant in the news, Priya is grateful for the love she has received. Speaking about the support she has received over the years which has been her driving force, she says, “It takes me back to my humble beginnings. My fans remind me of who I am. My family has done that too; they have not taken me seriously as an actor and the audience has done the same thing. I don’t think I need to do any gimmicks; which is why in most of my movies my name is just Priya.”

In November, Priya has two Tamil releases lined up—Sumo, directed by S P Hosimin and Adithya Varma directed by Gireesaaya. Sumo also has Shiva and Japanese Sumo wrestler, Yoshinori Tashiro.

Opening Doorz to Priya Anand, the girl who wowed us in English Vinglish, and thereafter did not have much of a role, either in Rangrez or Fukrey Returns. Have there been no offers from Bollywood? Read on…

On her 10-year journey…

I have been really fortunate. I was recently having a conversation with a few people from the industry and have been amazed at my 10-year-journey. Without being a part of any clique, or having any hero recommend me, or without paying for any promotional activity, I have managed to make it to where I am. It’s been just the bare minimum: me and the audience. To be able to do that for 10 years with just the audience supporting me for whatever I have done is truly amazing. I feel blessed. There are so many movies that are released every Friday and I am just fortunate that I have been loved and remembered.

On Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…

I have never planned anything, it’s just meant to be. I’m spoiled by my audience to the point of being lethargic. I never indulged in any promotion on Social Media, be it, FB, Twitter or Instagram. I have never felt the need to do that. I feel the movie-going audience are able to recognise gimmicks. You can pretend for some time but eventually, when you wear your own clothes, the truth comes out. The thing that has worked in my favour, I think, is that I have been very real, very relatable to my audience.

On Gimmicks on Social Media…

I see a lot of Social Media marketing, strategy and branding exercise that is being undertaken. I think all of that works, but one also has to remember that there are 10 of us that fit every genre. Ultimately, it’s the connection with the audience that matters. The more real you are, the better it is. In the South, exposure is a big thing and I believe if I expose the true essence of me, of who I really am, that works. Every character as much as you like it is just a character you play on screen. At the end of the day, it is your face, your emotions, your personality that is necessary. The more you can relate to your audience, the better it will be. You stop living when you get involved in Social Media, it’s very mechanical. There’s no point in being fake all the time.

On her fan base on Social Media…

I don’t do any sort of connection with my fans on Social Media. I have never done any ‘meet-and-greet’, FB ‘Live’ Twitter ‘interaction’ or constant ‘Instagram posts’. It has been very organic. I’m not saying that those things are bad. All that I do is show gratitude to my audience. I just want to thank them for 10 years of travelling with me on this journey. I get a lot of messages from fans saying that they saw me in this Ad or liked me in this song. It’s really very sweet.  It takes me back to my humble beginnings; they kind of remind me of who I am. My family has done that too; they have not taken me seriously as an actor and the audience has done the same thing.

On Bollywood and whether there are no offers…

To be honest, I haven’t even looked for work in Bollywood. All the casting directors are constantly getting in touch with me. I’m not looking to go to a bigger market; I’m only open to content that excites me, it could be any region. Money doesn’t interest me, fame doesn’t get to me, I need something exciting to wake up to every morning… the language does not matter. A lot of people think I’m picky, that’s not the case. I’d rather do a smaller project and do justice to the actress I am. Commercial movies are not what I want to do. Bollywood films did excite me at one point in time, but I don’t want to be a part of a song-and-dance sequence and a few scenes in a film that will rake in 100 crores. I want to be a part of stories that are worth being told and need to be told.

Also Read: Kriti Sanon, the Beauty and the brands!

Pic Courtesy: @PriyaAnand/Twitter