As I wait in the swanky banquet hall of a five-star hotel for this conversation with Sai Pallavi, the actor is just getting done with a previous video interaction. Sporting a simple white shirt-blue jeans look, Sai Pallavi finishes exchanging pleasantries and steps away from the bright studio lights. Taking the chair in front of me, she plonks her foot on the chair and gets comfortable. “Are you aware of your stardom, Sai Pallavi?” I begin. She responds with an effervescent smile. “I am surrounded by people who don’t think I am fancy. I am the same Pallavi in their eyes. I am always treated as the person I was before my film career took off. So, it never gets to my head. Of course, I am overwhelmed by the audience’s love, but I can never allow it to make me feel extra special about myself,” says the actor, who is on a whirlwind promotional tour for her upcoming film, Gargi, which will be released in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.
The actor clearly revels in balancing films across languages, considering how her career kickstarted in Malayalam cinema, and how she has now made Tamil and Telugu her home as well. Not calling it a strategic move, Sai Pallavi assures that her priority has always been picking the right script irrespective of the language the film belongs to. “My journey into movies has been magical, and I believe that I am here for a reason. There are some stories that have to be told through me, and those movies will happen. I believe I need a movie as much as it needs me. Also, if I start strategising every move, it will take away the joy of acting. In my head, I really haven’t segregated my audience. It is the scripts that take me to places,” shares the Virata Parvam actor, who feels that Gautham Ramachandran’s Gargi is bringing her back to Tamil cinema in particular. “The concept of this film is something everyone can relate to. It is a film that traces the struggles of a woman who isn’t certain where her life is taking her.”
Avinash Ramachandran 