Aditi Rao Hydari, who stars in Ratnam’s next, on the filmmaker’s portrayal of love on screen
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 20, 2017)

“As a kid, I wished to work with Mani Ratnam some day. Years later, I finally shot for a film with him,” says Aditi Rao Hydari, whose upcoming Tamil romance-drama, Kaatru Veliyidai, has been helmed by the celebrated filmmaker. Shot extensively in the picturesque locations of Ooty, Ladakh and Hyderabad, the film, says Aditi, has been an enriching experience, and she only has the director to credit. “Actors don’t choose to do his films, he chooses them.”

After her last film, Wazir (2016), opened to mixed reviews, the actress says she was up for a challenge. “Kaatru Veliyidai broke the complacency within me. I took it up because I was moved by the character. By the time I finished reading the script, I was in tears. There are certain roles you want on your resume. This is one of them. Mani sir makes it endearing. He has a natural gift of showing love in a magical way.”

Aditi admits that the film pulled her out of her comfort zone. She had to learn a new language and perfect pronunciation. “I was certain about the fact that I wanted to perfect the language. I didn’t want people to say, ‘Oh, she didn’t know Tamil and still she wasn’t half-bad’.”

Ask her what made her greenlight a Tamil film, and she says, “Cinema has no barriers. What drives me is working with the right director. When you like the story and script, the rest doesn’t matter.