Express News Service
Kalakkoothu may have garnered mixed reviews but Srushti Dange’s performance in the film was unanimously appreciated. “The response has been really good and even friends who don’t speak Tamil loved the songs and complimented me for having chosen such a role,” says Srushti, who goes off on a tangent to express her hope that I won’t ask her the same questions that most journalists do.
One, she says, is asking her why she plays women who break up with the hero. “I’m tired of answering that. Films should be seen for what they are, and must not be compared with other work,” she says. And of course, she didn’t sign the film because she gets to ‘breakup with the hero’. “The film, while about family and friendship, is actually about sacrifice. Everyone in the film loses something, and my character chooses her parents over her lover.”
Another question she hates answering is why she picks multi-starrers. “Tell me. Today, how many Tamil films have just a single heroine? Three-fourths of all films have two heroines. You know who I’m talking about,” she says. “Despite Kaalakoothu being a multi-starrer, I would defend myself by pointing out that I got a good role. People are saying I did a good job. I want my film to be the winner too — not just my character.”
Kaalakoothu’s release may have been delayed, but that’s nothing in comparison to the years of delay her upcoming Pottu has faced. She says such delays affect both the artistes and the film itself. “I agree with what Kalaiyarasan said in a recent interview. ‘It was hard to get films earlier. Now it’s hard to get them released.’ But what can we do?” asks Srushti.
In Pottu which stars Bharath, she plays a lively character who doesn’t want to be a doctor but ends up being one. “I play Bharath’s girlfriend. It’s a commercial film with horror and thriller elements in it.” She last played a doctor in the 2016 Vijay Sethupathi-starrer, Dharmadurai. “But in this film, I’m a stupid doctor (laughs). There’s ample scope for humour. There’s one scene in which I’m asked to go to a morgue and I refuse. It’s quite funny,” says Srushti.
The actress is also a part of Kathir’s Sathru and Cheran’s Rajavukku Check. “I’ve completed Sathru and Cheran sir’s film has one more week of filming left. Sathru should hit the screens in July,” she says. “It’s a serious cop drama and I play Kathir’s fiancée.” Rajavukku Check, she recalls, left her in tears. “It’s a story that rings very real, and is about how women are portrayed in our country. Every day, we hear news about women being in trouble and Rajavukku Check throws light on one such issue. I was moved to tears by one scene,” she says.
Srushti who also has a Telugu film, Wife of Ram, in her kitty. “I have dubbed for myself. I try to do that in Tamil as well — right from 2015. I wanted to dub in Dharmadurai but because of the Madurai dialect, it didn’t work. I’ll keep trying,” says Srushti.
