'I play a chatpata village girl in Sukumarudu'

Nisha Agarwal (sister of Kajal Agarwal) is slowly making a name for herself in the film industry. After making her debut with Yemaindi Ee Vela in 2010, she did two films, Solo and Ishtam, the Tamil remake of Yemaindi Ee Vela.

Her third Telugu movie, Sukumarudu, directed by G Ashok with Aadi as co-star, is ready for release on May 10.

In this interview she talks about the film, the character she portrays and her co-stars.

You seem to be choosy about signing films. You have done only three movies so far...

Yes, I am choosy. I would rather do a few good movies than do many for the heck of it. I don't mind doing a few which I would enjoy seeing years later.

How did you sign Sukumarudu?

Director Ashok came to Mumbai and narrated the story. I enjoyed the narration and liked the story. So I was ready and came on board. I hope the audience will enjoy the film too.

You play a village girl. How did you prepare for it?

I play a chatpata village girl. I have done roles where I have moved from a village background to the city, but in this film, I play a girl settled in a village.

She is a fun character. You will enjoy watching her on screen. She is humorous and full of confidence.

Ashok helped me with the expressions and reactions and how to behave.

Was it easy wearing and handling the traditional attire?

It was really easy. I like wearing Indian clothes. The half-saris were comfortable. The saris too are elegant and beautiful and women look pretty in them.

I was dressed in half-saris with a long braid to make the look authentic. I wore two saris for the songs.

How was it sharing space with Aadi?

It was nice. He is very passionate and dedicated about his work. I must admit he gives his heart and soul to every shot. He is very patient too. I would like to adopt that.

If you tell him to shoot from 7 am till 2 am next morning, he will be at it with the same dedication as the first shot. I really liked that.

Are you comfortable with Telugu now?

I can understand it but I am still not comfortable speaking it. I can't frame sentences right. I'm still learning it.

How was Ashok as a director?

Ashok is a nice and creative person. He goes into the nuances of things, takes care of small expressions which matter. He's full of fun and a friendly person.

Do you have any scenes with yesteryear superstar Krishna (father of Mahesh babu) and Sarada (who has won the maximum number of National Awards)?

I have a couple of scenes with Sarada. She is amazing. She made me feel comfortable and gave her inputs. People will be touched whenever she comes on screen.

How did you manage to shoot in Lithuania under snowing and freezing conditions?

That was bad. It was cold. The temperature was around -10 to -13 degrees Celsius. The day I reached, it was not that bad. The next day it started snowing. It was the first time it snowed in September after a long time. It looked lovely.

Only my mother was with me. I had no assistant to do my hair or make-up or to help me. Aadi's assistant helped me by getting the hot water bag periodically in between the shots.

Aadi and I froze to death. But eventually the song came out well and all this was forgotten.

What are your future projects?

I have two more releases in Telugu, namely Saradaga Ammaitho with Varun Sandesh, and DK Bose with Sundeep Kishan. So I have back-to-back releases.

How does it feel to be in the same industry as your sister Kajal?

It's a good feeling. We do get to live together at the workplace (Hyderabad) when we happen to be shooting there at the same time, besides of course, at home. It happened in Chennai too as I was shooting for my Tamil film and Kajal was shooting for Maattrran.