With web shows like The Family Man and The Good Wife, Priya Mani Raj has found a renewed connection with audiences across India. While she has long been a well-known name in the South, the digital space has helped her reach a wider, pan-India audience. Yet, her journey with Hindi cinema began much earlier — with Mani Ratnam’s Raavan.

When asked if she had high expectations from her Bollywood debut, she says, “Yes, I did. I was brought up watching Hindi films, so when I got an offer to do the Hindi version of Raavan, I was thrilled. I got to act with Abhishek Bachchan and so many wonderful actors like Ravi Kishan and Pankaj Tripathi. I was very happy. I didn’t have scenes with Aishwarya, but I met her during promotions, and she was so warm.”

She adds, “Honestly, I did think I’d get more offers after that. But I was quite selective. I got some offers that I liked and some I wasn’t convinced about, so I just kept them at bay. I wasn’t disappointed because I had my plate full with South films anyway.”

​Opening up about her initial journey, Priya Mani reflects on how she learned the ropes without any guidance.

She says, “When I look back at my old pictures or films, I’m like, ‘Why was I like this?’ But it’s a learning process. Nobody is perfect when they start out. Back then, I didn’t even know what grooming meant. I was 18 when I started out, and no one in my family was from the industry. I didn’t have a godfather to guide me, so I went with my instinct. I still do. I didn’t know you could have a personal makeup artist, a hairstylist, or even someone called a stylist,” she laughs, adding, “My peers had friends styling for them, and I just figured things out on my own.”

It was much later, she says, that she began to understand the importance of self-care. “It was only around 2011 or 2012 that I realised you could actually hire a stylist or get a designer to put things together for you. And after I started dating Mustafa (her husband), I learned to invest in myself — to look good, go for a manicure or pedicure, take care of myself, and look presentable,” signs off the Jawan actress.

When The Family Man premiered in 2019, it changed things for Priya Mani Raj. The National Award-winning actress, already a familiar name in South Indian cinema, found herself connecting with a whole new audience across India.

“Definitely, 200%,” she laughs when asked how much of a gamechanger it was. “I’m so happy, so fortunate that I got to be part of such a wonderful series,” says Priya Mani, who will soon be seen in season 3 of the web series featuring Manoj Bajpayee and created by Raj & DK.

In an industry where auditions were the norm, the opportunity to work on the show came to Priya Mani in the most unexpected manner. “It all began when Mukesh Chhabra (casting director) called me and said there’s a project he wanted to talk about,” she recalls.

“The next day, I met Raj and DK and they narrated the story to me for about half an hour. At that point, I wasn’t even sure if I was part of it. That’s because in Mumbai, the norm is that you have to audition and I was ready for that. After the narration, my husband said, ‘You idiot, they’ve spent 45 minutes explaining the whole thing to you — that means you’re doing it!’” she laughs. “And that’s how it happened.”

Talking about the audition process, Priya Mani points out that this culture didn’t exist in the South earlier. “Of late, they’ve started auditions, but not to the level of what happens here,” she explains. “Casting directors and agencies are just coming into the picture now. Until about five years ago, I don’t think there was anything like that in the South.”

She sees it as a positive change. “There’s nothing wrong in auditioning and proving your mettle. Sometimes people might know of you but not really know what you can do. It’s just showing them, ‘Look, I can also do this.’ There’s absolutely nothing wrong in that,” the actress adds.

Despite her long career, though, Priya Mani reveals that she has barely auditioned. “I have never really been called for any auditions. I went for an audition once for a John Abraham film, but I don’t know what happened to that. Maybe it didn’t work out and that’s okay. It’s a part and parcel of life. You can’t expect everything to click. I was just glad I went and gave it a shot.”

In her own words, Priyamani currently has her “hands full”. The actor is juggling OTT projects along with films in different languages. She has the Hindi movie Maidaan with Ajay Devgn, a Telugu film with Rana Daggubati, and a pan-Indian film with Jackie Shroff and Sunny Leone, among others, to look forward to.

The Family Man actor says she is happy that “even at this stage” in her life she is getting lots of work. When we probe her which stage she is referring to, the 37-year-old quips, “Generally, people say that after marriage you don’t have work, or you are reduced to doing character or sister roles. That’s why I said, even at this stage. [But] I got busier after marriage.” Priyamani, who got hitched in 2017, adds, “On the third day after getting married, I signed a film. I think my husband is my lucky charm.”

The actor adds that the industry’s mindset has changed as well: “They (makers) are accepting heroines who are married. They know that she looks the same and has physically maintained herself. It’s up to us whether we want to take a break or continue working. Even audiences accept you as you are.”

Ask her if, on a professional level, she has faced any difficulties in finding apt roles after reaching a certain age, and she says, “I don’t think age is a big factor at all, because we are all getting roles written for us, and not the teenybopper ones anymore.”