Fire and steam
"I have a good figure. What's wrong if I flaunt it.... Why should the critics be after my blood? I'll not hesitate to expose if it is needed for a particular scene."
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Ramya Krishna. Click for bigger pic!
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That's Ramya Krishna, the uncompromising sex bomb of the Telugu film industry.
Initially, Ramya Krishna was more talked about for her reported involvement with noted director K Raghavendra Rao. Now all the actress will concede on that matter is that he gave her life as an actress and that she would be ever grateful to him.
Ramya Krishna has no qualms and carries her title of 'sexy siren' with aplomb, even pride. While that has invited some censure from conservative circles, they haven't realised yet her hunger to be recognised and respected as an actress.
For, despite all that glamour, for five years after she entered the industry in 1986, her career failed to click. But then came a number of films which earned her appreciation for her histrionics.
Krishna faced the camera for the first time in a Tamil film Vellai Manasu when she was fourteen. Now she has 70 films behind her, in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi.
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With Shah Rukh Khan in Chaahat. Click for bigger pic!
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She wasn't noticed in Khalnayak, the honours there going to Madhuri Dixit. Now things have change so that she's determined to make a comeback into Bollywood.
But then, just when one was ready to consign her into merciful oblivion, she came back with hits like Alludugaru, Allari Mogudu, Allari Priyudu, Alluda Majaka, Hello Brother, Ayanakiddaru, Dharma Chakram, and Soggadi Pellam.
She also figured in a Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chaahat, directed by Mahesh Bhatt and in David Dhawan's Banarsi Babu with Govinda.
But what established Krishna as an actress was her performance in Annamayya with Nagarjuna last year. A reputation reinforced by her roles in recent hits Evandi Pelli Chesukondi and Aahwanam. In an interview with Sunil Kumar, she discusses both her image as a showpiece and her talent as an actress.
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In Annamayya. Click for bigger pic!
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You're dubbed a "sexy siren or a "sex bomb" in the industry, a tag that never attached itself to other Telugu heroines...
See, if I'm doing something (steamy) in a film, I am doing it at the bidding of the director. It is not of my own choice that I expose. I just do what the director tells me to do if it's necessary for the scene.
Did you ever object to shed your clothes when you were not convinced it was necessary?
I cannot answer this question lest if annoy some directors.
Are you happy with the roles that are coming your way?
I have acted in some good roles, apart from being used as a glamour doll in many films. I have done justice when the roles demanded that I actually act and not merely be a showpiece.
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Click for bigger pic!
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For instance?
Take the film Ammoru. As Adi Shakti in the film I got much recognition as a good actress. I could really gauge the impact I had when a couple of women came and fell at my feet while I was shooting for another film. I was taken aback and refused to accept such adoration. They had obviously seen Ammoru. Nevertheless, I consider it the best compliment I have received from anyone so far.
During the initial years, all you had were flops. Did it not demoralise you? Why do you think they did badly?
If those films did not bring me recognition it was only because I was in those films to add a touch of glamour. You cannot blame me for the films not doing well. I, however, did not allow myself to be discouraged. Fighter that I was, I continued to do my best.
Since 1991, you have delivered many hits. That must have been quite encouraging...
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Click for bigger pic!
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>I'm still not satisfied. One good thing that has happened to me was that I was given serious roles in films. I proved I wasn't just a glamour girl, but an actress with talent. It was after this change that I was convinced that I was much more than a glamour girl.
How would you describe your acting?
Spontaneous.
Since you are now also getting serious roles, do you take every opportunity to prove your worth?
I put my mind into acting but I must confess that acting does get boring and monotonous sometimes.
Between glamour and serious roles, what would you choose?
I would like to act in serious roles as well as glamorous ones.
There are rumours floating in the industry about your involvement with a man. Could you elaborate?
Why should I clarify, confirm, or even tell people if I am interested or involved with someone? It is my personal life; I don't have to discuss it with everybody.
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