Exclusive! Bachelor Party’s Siri Ravikumar – In the last 2 years I did 5 good films with vastly different roles

The impression one gets with Siri Ravikumar’s filmography, including Sakutumba Sametha and Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye that have released, and the upcoming Abracadabra and Bisi Bisi Ice Cream, is that she is drawn to the more content-driven cinema that is not necessarily in the ‘commercial film’ realm. That appears to have changed with her next release, Bachelor Party, a new project from actor-filmmaker Rakshit Shetty’s Paramvah Studios, which introduces writer Abhijit Mahesh as director. Is there a shift in her strategy of picking roles?

“I have to explain how I came to be in Bachelor Party to answer this,” says Siri, adding that Abhijit had called her for an audition and explained that the character is of a girl who is quite dominating and not very keen about her marriage, yet remains in it because she is in control of the ‘relationship’. She is the definition of the nagging wife.

“I had not done a comedy on stage or screen and my first thought was that as an actor, I should be able to do different roles. In fact, sometime ago, I had a conversation with a friend, during which I had said that I would not do song-and-dance routines in regular commercial movies, and he said that as an actor, I ought to remain open to all kinds of work and not restrict myself to a certain type of cinema. That stayed with me,” she says.

When she then got the role in Bachelor Party, she realized it was not something that she could not do. “Also, it’s a fun script. Abhijit is a great writer and has a great sense of humour. This is his concept of a marriage, in which a man is getting belted and all the chaos that ensues. I was selected after the first audition, So, the thought process was to be able to do different kind of films and roles,” explains Siri.

Exclusive! I am drawn to the kind of cinema I would want to watch, says Sakutumba Sametha’s Siri Ravikumar 

This does not mean that she won’t do roles like Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye’s Prerana anymore. “My role in my next, Bisi Bisi Ice Cream, in which I play a high-end escort, is also very different. The kind of films that I have done till now – 5 in two years - each one is different in its own way. Sakutumba Sametha’s Shraddha is this urban confused girl, Prerana is lonely and finding love. There’s been a journey with both these roles, as also with Bisi Bisi Ice Cream - there is a character arc. Even in Bachelor Party, I think my character is the catalyst for all the chaos that unfolds,” she says.

The actress adds that she’s been fortunate to have gotten such varied stories and roles, which allowed her to experiment not only with her looks as well as the craft involved in bringing these characters to life. “I think this is a good space for me as an actor. When I look back at the last two years and what I have done, I have these good, different films and roles, which is what every actor wants,” says Siri.

For Siri Ravikumar, everyday's a party with 'Bachelor Party' co-stars Rishab Shetty, Diganth Manchale and Achyuth Kumar 

Having said that, the actress adds that she may not have much to do in Bachelor Party, because it is all about the boys going for a bachelor party. “I think’s it’s going to be a fun watch. I have not seen the entire film and am going by the few bits I did while dubbing for my role. It seemed like something that everybody would like,” Siri says.

She adds, “When I say, I don’t have much to do, it’s in comparison to, say, SMMH, where there is a lot that Prerana does and there is a shift in her life. Bachelor Party is a straight-forward comedy, in which Santhosh (Diganth) is in a bad marriage and then goes and has a good or rather chaotic time with his friends – it’s his story and the rest of us are a part of his story. In that way, it’s not the wife’s story.”