Suman Ranganath, who is best remembered for her role in Fareb (1996), which also featured Milind Gunaji and Faraaz Khan, has appeared in several films down South over the years. She is currently shooting for Kannada comedy-drama Petromax and calls her recent schedule for the film “refreshing”. She says this is entirely because of the character she plays in the film — Subbalakshmi from Chitradurga.

“Subbalakshmi lives and works in an ashram and is one of the most subtle roles I’ve played in my life. She’s disinterested in life because life has treated her that way. Yet she smiles through it all. When Vijay Prasad sir, who I absolutely enjoy working with, offered me this role and told me that I will have to appear three shades darker than my actual complexion sans make-up, I jumped at the opportunity. He is someone who always offers me the most interesting roles — each so unique. Be it Andalamma in Sidlingu, Sharadamani in Neerdose, Victoria in Totapuri, or Subbalakshmi in Petromax, each of them have been unique,” shares Suman.

In fact, the deep longing to play characters that have substantial scope to perform has been stirring in her for a while now, confesses Suman. “I was getting tired of people associating me with just this dusky, tall, curly haired and glamorous image. And within me, I kept feeling there’s so much more to me. Why aren’t people seeing that? It was Vijay Prasad sir who had that vision and gave me a school teacher’s part in Sidlingu. I rejected five films during the one year that we waited for Sidlingu to take off. All films were about me being glam. Today, I’d rather do two days of work that leaves me fulfilled than extended work where I don’t feel satiated as an actor. That’s the stage I’ve reached in life,” says Suman.