Lavanya is travelling in Chennai and in between her shoot, she finds time to chat with Klapboardpost.com. We ask her if an actress need to balance sensible films and commercial movies to stay afloat and she responds, “In the very beginning of my career, I have done films like Andala Rakshasi, Lachimdeviki Lekkundi, Bhale Bhale Magadivoy etc. Andala Rakshasi revolved around her. I had tasted a meaty role and also I did a balancing act where I was required to merely support the hero. All of this is necessary and you pick the best from what you are offered. When you come to the industry newly, without parents accompanying you, not having someone around you all the time, you begin to make your decisions. I come from the hills, I don’t like bringing my parents on the sets and I like to make my own choice. There are a lot of people around you who tell you to do ten different things. I enjoy substantial roles, characters which give me a difficult time and I like taxing myself for those roles. Having said that, I don’t like to use illogical characters. From A1 EXpress, I am being careful. The audience very easily notices cliched roles and I don’t want to do anything like that. Mythri Movies came to me at the right time (Happy Birthday) and I also did Chavukaburu Challaga for GA2. I also didn’t want people to see me as just another pretty face. I am confident doing roles without makeup, and I am happy doing a joker too. These films challenged me, I also learnt playing hockey for one role.”
Lavanya received flak from reviewers for her unflattering make-up in Chavu Kaburu Challaga. Was it a conscious effort to look deglamorized? She explains, “It was about looking like a girl from Vizag, a coastal area. She lost her husband, so she will not immediately begin putting on make -up. I am happy being a normal girl. I enjoy my choices, the process and also the outcome of the decision. Right now I am doing a confused comedy, there is a different surreal world, it has new age comedy. It is an action crime comedy titled Happy Birthday. There is no hero or heroine as such, there are a lot of good actors in the film. I do have a funny bone, seriously. People have to catch me at the right time, a little more. I am always laughing, cracking jokes and enjoying them. I don’t know if people get irritated but I enjoy my own jokes. In the industry people look up to me as a serious person and I am normally controlled and guarded and I have just done what the director asked me to do. Ritesh Rana is the director who made a lot of films.“
The film is very funny, says Lavanya and adds that she doesn’t know how much she is allowed to reveal. She shares, “It is a parallel universe and anything is possible. For example, if Hyderabad was like this what would have happened? The character has no single dimension and the look is also different, it is a surprise for people. The girl does something and falls into trouble. I just loved the process. There is humour and there are so many layers to the character. In the shoot, I got injured but as an actor you feel complete when you do something physically straining and challenging. Now on my bucket list is a grey shade which needs to be explored. Many say that I have an innocent face, and if I can actually pull it off. I have always loved Sridevi and she is someone whom I look upto. She has a range of characters and the most innocent faces are the biggest villains.”
On the personal front, she is being clicked by paparazzi. The photographers know when she goes and leaves from the airport and gym. Lavanya quips, “Gym is my personal space and I hate when people go there to click my pictures. At the airport too, celebs get mobbed. I am comfy travelling in pajamas on a flight, I love my mask..would be wearing it even before the pandemic was out. I love gym wear, I want to be comfy, sometimes you want to dress up for yourself and I dress according to my moods and definitely it is not for shutterbugs. Satya’s character is also insane in Happy Birthday. Kishore’s character is also good. I enjoyed myself thoroughly.” What about the OTT platform, does she want to explore it someday soon? “Everyone is doing everything, there is no segregation of roles. I am an actor and I am in the industry to work with everyone. I am getting a lot of offers on OTT. I am also doing an intense crime drama in Tamil. I am playing the love interest of the protagonist, I am doing it because I loved the role. I want to work in a Malayalam film, they make amazing content. Ten long years in the industry? I am not in a rush, feel comfy and not in a rush. There is no anxiety, I know what to do and what not to do. I am close to Tej, Niharika, Varun, Nag sir. I like my own space and I don’t party much.”
The media got you married? “That was my tenth marriage and eventually they will forget that too. Social media is boon for some and bane for some people. Unless it is really crappy, I don’t clarify. If we get angry, we are losers. We can’t allow others to have control over you. I don’t like people disrespecting you. Whenever something happens, I try to understand why they did that, I try to see their perspective otherwise I am someone who normally doesn’t get angry easily. I feel bad for them, how negative and desperate they must be in their real lives that they are hurting people and making business out of it,” she signs off.
