Ramya Krishnan reveals the reason for her long absence from Bollywood

By Natalia Ningthoujam

New Delhi, June 17  Actress Ramya Krishnan, popular for her portrayal of Sivagami Devi in the “Baahubali” series, had done a handful of Bollywood films in the nineties, but it has been long since the audience saw her in a Hindi film.

Ramya, who worked in Hindi films such as “Khal Nayak”, “Criminal”, “Shapath” and “Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan”, is candid when you ask her why she took a break from Bollywood despite working in so many big-ticket projects.

“I didn’t take a break. Basically, my films didn’t do well and I didn’t take any interest in the offers (that were coming her way). Meanwhile, I was doing very well for myself in South Indian films,” Ramya told IANS.

She was meant to work in a Hindi-Tamil film starring Amitabh Bachchan but the project didn’t take off.

“It hasn’t gone on floors. I think they have some issues, which I am not aware of. I haven’t started shooting for it yet,” she said.

But there is one Telugu-Hindi film coming up, which stars Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday, in her kitty. Clearly, she is excited about it.

“It is co-produced by Karan Johar. Puri Jagannadh is the director. That is going to be another…almost a ‘Baahubali’ for sure,” she said with a smile without giving out more details.

“Almost 50 per cent of the shoot is done. We will resume after the quarantine phase,” shared the actress, whose web series “Queen” is currently aired on Zee TV.

For now, she is making the most of the lockdown phase in Chennai.

“I plan recipes, cook, workout, spend time with family. It’s been interesting so far. It’s been quite peaceful so far except for the fact that many people are not in the same comfortable space like the daily wagers and migrant workers. That breaks my heart. There is an uncertainty of COVID-19 also which troubles us now and then,” she said.

“Otherwise it’s been a change for me. I have never got so many days where I have stayed at home for so long. I think the world is healing. There is less pollution and less traffic. I know very soon, we will start doing whatever we have been doing but I am just enjoying right now. I have decided to enjoy it as long as it lasts,” she added.

Once things get back to normal, she will return on sets.

Ramya has acted in hundreds of films in multiple languages — Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. Still, she confesses to not knowing everything about her craft.

“Nobody knows all about acting till their last film or even after their last film. Every day is a learning experience where you fine tune yourself,” she said.

As for her career highlight, she said it’s definitely the “Baahubali” series (2015 and 2017), which is among the highest grossing Indian films.

Her character Sivagami Devi became so popular that a book titled “The Rise Of Sivagami” was published in its wake.

Asked if a standalone movie on her character would excite her, she said: “If someone comes up with an incredible story, why wouldn’t I (do it)?”

“She (Sivagami) was an unbelievably strong character. I would say it is one of the best characters of my career,” she concluded.

(Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n@ians.in )