Bitter sweet

With seven years of acting experience behind her,Trisha Krishnan is one of the more prominent faces down South. Having worked with popular directors like Mani Ratnam (Aayutha Ezhuthu),Selvaraghavan (Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule) and Prabhu Dheva (Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule) and won a slew of awards for her performances,it must take a lot for the 28-year-old to start afresh in Bollywood where the audience perceives her to be a debutante. But the actress,who will soon be seen romancing one of Bollywood’s top stars,Akshay Kumar,in Priyadarshan’s Khatta Meetha,waves off the suggestion. “I get bored real fast. I have acted in nearly 40 Tamil and Telugu films and monotony has begun to take over. I look at this as something new and challenging,” she smiles.

Seated on a couch at a Mumbai hotel’s coffee shop,the petite actress,dressed in a cream shirt and denims,has the air of a curious child. Smiling easily,she admits that it is also the craving for good roles that brings her to Bollywood. “Barring a few new filmmakers,the South industry remains male-dominated. The audience prefers to watch fights and heroes flying. Women still don’t get good roles,” she says. Bollywood,however,is changing. “A film like Fashion is commercial and yet has strong female protagonists.” She is also glad that the concept of song-and-dance numbers is fading away here. “Though I am now used to dancing and that too fast steps as is the style in the South,I have never really liked much of it,” she admits with a laugh.

Priyadarshan,who also gave the actress her first break in the Tamil film Lesa Lesa,is also steering her career in Bollywood. “Priyan sir wanted to be the one to launch me in Bollywood but he didn’t want to do so with a multi-starrer since he knew it won’t leave any impact,” she explains.