Showing posts with label Priyamani interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Priyamani interview. Show all posts
I did think I’d get more offers in Bollywood after Raavan-Priyamani
8:34 AM
Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; March 18, 2026)
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.”
‘NOBODY IS PERFECT WHEN THEY START OUT’
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.
I lost a film starring John Abraham-Priyamani
9:01 AM
Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; November 9, 2025)
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.
‘You can’t expect everything to click’
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.”
I didn’t even know that actors can have people who separately focus on you to get you ready-Priyamani
9:20 AM
Vishakha Pandit (HINDUSTAN TIMES; October 14, 2025)
Priyamani is the newest industry figure to share her perspective on the ongoing debate around the high entourage costs in Bollywood.
The 42-year-old says that while the decision ultimately lies jointly with the producer and the actor, there needs to be a sense of balance: “I feel actors should be quite adjusting. We can be considerate, think about everybody’s situation, for that matter. Taking that into consideration, you can be a little flexible. We are here to work, and the focus should be on that. That said, I still believe it’s a personal choice and highly subjective.”
Speaking from her own experience, Priyamani notes that having a genuinely necessary team is what truly matters. She acknowledges that while some producers may have agreed to excessive demands in the past, there are others who will not always support or feel comfortable with the idea of having a large entourage.
“I can only speak from personal experience. I believe if you have a team that is genuinely required, then you’re sorted. There could be some production houses or producers who may say yes to such demands or would have said yes in the past, but there are also people who don’t agree to them and are not comfortable with it,” she says.
The actor, who is gearing up for The Family Man Season 3, continues, “For the longest time, I didn’t even know that, as an actor, you need or can have people who separately focus on you to get you ready for events or interviews. It was much later in my career that I realized this. And even then, one of my friends helped me with styling.”
I took a break from Hindi films as I was only getting similar songs-Priyamani
8:33 AM
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; April 23, 2022)
The Chennai Express song, One Two Three Four Get on the Dance Floor, featuring actor Priyamani had become quite the rage in 2013. But we didn’t see her going all out in taking up Hindi projects after that. In fact, The Family Man was her next Hindi outing, six years later.
Ask her about it and she says she was “never away” from Hindi cinema to begin with. “I have grown up watching those films, actors like Aamir (Khan), Shah Rukh (Khan), Salman (Khan)... I was born and brought up in Bengaluru, and watched both English and Hindi films. I just took my time to proudly enter this (Hindi) industry,” says Priyamani, who has done films in multiple south Indian languages.
The problem, she says, lay in the kind of image that was being formed of her after Chennai Express. The National Film Award-winning actor elaborates, “Hindi cinema has a wider, pan-India audience. The NRI audience also watches a lot of it. I am glad I started my journey (in Bollywood) with Raavan in 2010, then Rakta Charitra (2010), followed by Chennai Express. After that, I wanted to take a break as I’d keep getting a lot of offers for doing similar numbers. I didn’t want to be like that. Then came The Family Man, and the rest is history.”
Maidaan is the 37-year-old’s next release, alongside actor Ajay Devgn, which has been pushed till now to ensure a theatrical release. And with people back in cinemas, does she think that the craze for web content will go down? “No, I don’t think so. Web will have its full fan following even after this. This craze for OTT platforms will never die down,” she signs off.
People on social media have talked about my skin colour-Priyamani
8:24 AM
Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; April 12, 2022)
With success comes a lot of scrutiny on social media, especially if you’re in show business. And actor Priyamani has had her fair share of both. She has not only been subjected to body shaming, but colourism too. ”When you are in the spotlight and gain a few kilos or lose a significant amount of weight, people notice. It’s a part and parcel of being a public figure,” Priyamani notes, adding that while she hasn’t seen colourism in the film industry specifically, she believes that social media is a nightmare that frequently fosters self-doubt.
“People on social media have talked about my skin colour. 99% of the population will love you just the way you are. But there’s this one percent who will tell you that your body looks fat and your skin looks dark,” rues the 37-year-old.
Further, Priyamani adds that the film industry sets unrealistic beauty standards, which does not help the situation. She says, “In this industry, you need to look prim and proper all the time and you have to maintain your body, skin, hair and nails.” However, the actor admits that there are moments when things are difficult: “There are days when you want to hang up your boots and declare, ‘For one day, I want to be me’.”
The Family Man actor believes it is critical for public figures to speak out against these issues in order to start a conversation.
And “live and let live” is the mantra that she wants everyone to live by. The actor says, “The idea is to let people be happy. If you’ve got anything positive to say, say it. And if you don’t, just keep your comments to yourself. You may not like me, but why do you have to pass on your opinion to other people and ask them to not like me?”
On the third day after getting married, I signed a film. I think my husband is my lucky charm-Priyamani
10:21 PM
Priyamani says the industry’s mindset has changed over the years
Rishabh Suri (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 20, 2022)
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.”
There was no point doing dance numbers-Priyamani
8:25 AM
Remembered for Chennai Express song and Family Man, Priyamani hopes latest web film will help her gain a toehold in B-Town
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; April 25, 2020)
After grabbing eyeballs with her act in The Family Man, Priyamani is ready with her next digital venture, Ateet. The South star plays Janvi, the wife of an Army officer who is declared dead after he goes missing. "There is an element of horror, but it is subtle. There are no shrieking ghosts, or blood and gore," she says of the Zee5 psychological thriller that also features Rajeev Khandelwal and Sanjay Suri.With another promising offering in Ajay Devgn-starrer Maidaan, she says, "I hope these projects will make Bollywood see me anew. I'm keeping my fingers crossed."
Though the actor had made a splash on the big screen with her dance number, One two three four, in Chennai Express (2013), it was only after the success of The Family Man that the Hindi film industry sat up and took notice of her. "I agreed to be part of the song because it gave me a chance to dance with Shah Rukh Khan. Post Chennai Express, I got several offers from Hindi cinema, but nothing substantial came my way. There was no point doing dance numbers," says the actor, who is juggling her South commitments and Hindi outings.
None of my Hindi films gave me such a boost as The Family Man-Priyamani
1:30 PM
Despite roles in Raavan and Chennai Express, Priyamani says The Family Man brought her pan-India fame as she wins Best Supporting Actor nomination in the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web Awards
Uma Ramasubramanian (MID-DAY; March 6, 2020)
People often ask me, 'What happened between you two in Lonavala?' And I say, 'What happens in Lonavala, stays in Lonavala,'" laughs Priyamani, gleefully aware that the sub-plot between her character and that of Sharad Kelkar in The Family Man piqued the audience's curiosity. As the wife who is exasperated with the workaholic nature of her husband — essayed by Manoj Bajpayee — and finds solace in her colleague, Priyamani was spirited and spontaneous. Little surprise then that she has bagged a Best Supporting Actor nomination in the upcoming mid-day and Radio City Hitlist Web Awards.
The audience may have sat up and taken notice of her in the much loved web series, but the South sensation's résumé is dotted with several Hindi films, including Mani Ratnam's Raavan (2010).
"Surprisingly, only few of the fraternity folk knew that I had played Abhishek's [Bachchan] sister in Raavan. None of the Hindi films that I've done have given me the kind of boost that The Family Man has," states the actor, who also shook a leg with Shah Rukh Khan in One two three four in Chennai Express (2013). "A lot of people noticed me [after the song], but this show has taken me to a whole new level. It has only been possible because OTT platforms have such a huge viewership. This show has opened doors for me in Mumbai."
Rewarding as the move has been, Priyamani reveals she had her share of inhibitions before jumping on the digital bandwagon with the Raj-DK (Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK) spy thriller. "I loved the character of Suchi. But I asked Raj and DK upfront if there were any intimate scenes as I am hesitant to do them. They assured me that there were no such scenes."
More On The Show
- The makers of the show met a real-life RAW agent who supported their depiction of
agents' wives when the former are on duty
- Cast Your Vote For The Hitlist Web Awards
- Priyamani has been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor (Female) category for Amazon Prime's The Family Man
The other nominees are:
- Shivani Raghuvanshi (Made In Heaven; Amazon Prime)
- Rasika Dugal (Delhi Crime; Netflix)
- Amruta Subhash (Sacred Games S02; Netflix)
- Nidhi Singh (MOM; ALTBalaji)
- Navni Parihar (Little Things S03; Netflix)
- The Family Man enjoys six nominations, including Best Series, Best Creator, Best Actor (Male), Best Supporting Actor (Male), Best Supporting Actor (Female) and Best Writing.
- There are 14 categories that the public can vote in. Log on to www.hitlistwebawards.com to cast your vote.
- You can also vote via SMS. Send HITLIST <space> category name <space> your choice (a/b/c/d as on the website) to 57575.
- Voting lines extended by a day, to close on March 9.
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