Sreeleela: Skanda opened me to a new school of filmmaking, Boyapati Sreenu extracted my best

Sreeleela may have had only two Telugu releases to date - Pelli SandaD and Dhamaka - but she has been consistently hogging the limelight for signing biggies opposite major stars one after the other. While she has a little over a half-dozen films in her kitty, her next release is Skanda, alongside Ram Pothineni, an action entertainer directed by Boyapati Sreenu that releases on September 28.

In a promotional interview with Jordar Sujatha, the actress shared that the making of Skanda was an eye-opener for her in more ways than one. She began shooting for the film much before the release of Dhamaka and received much guidance from an experienced technical crew and a vast lineup of artistes on the film sets. Her first interaction with Ram however didn’t go as expected.

Also read: Skanda has exhausted me mentally and physically, says actor Ram Pothineni

“Ram and I were on opposite sides at the shoot location and I was trying to introduce myself to everyone on sets. I was wearing shades but he wasn't looking in my direction and didn't respond. I am the sole comedian in my life. I told him later that I was waving him a ‘hi’ before and that he didn’t notice me,” the actress recollected. Working with Boyapati Sreenu was a learning curve, she admitted.

“This was my first full fledged commercial film and I was trying to absorb everything I saw. Boyapati (garu) ensures that atmosphere during shoot remains chirpy, even if we are filming a serious scene. He knows how to extract the best out of his actors. I have given my 100% to it,” Sreeleela said. In Skanda, she plays a character, who has dual personalities in and beyond the house.

She remembers how senior actresses Indraja and Gautami took personal care of her, giving her style tips and helping with her hair. “I really enjoy chatting with people and constantly asked them questions about their past experiences. I don’t think this generation of actors can ever be like them. They did everything on their own without caravans and other facilities.”

Skanda was a game-changing experience for Sreeleela, more so, for how it altered her perspective about shooting action sequences. “I saw people slogging, falling in the mud, maintaining the same pose, doing the entire scene again for consistency. I had no clue of what was happening on sets initially. My respect for the actors, crew increased. I am eager to know more about the process now.”

Revealing what one could expect from her role in Skanda, the actress shared, “I can afford to say that the emotional quotient in my role in Dhamaka was less and you’ll notice that side to me in Skanda.” As someone who’s constantly juggling between sets, her mantra has remained the same. “As an artiste, I need to be a student and always listen to my directors because they would’ve done their homework much before for years. I am learning more with every film.”

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