Samyuktha says it is harder to act in Telugu cinema than in Malayalam: ‘A lot of effort goes into makeup and costumes’

She added, “But in Telugu cinema, they don’t want that. They are very clear that they don’t want such sequences… at least in the films I have worked in. With the master shots, I put my everything into it. But when you cut and go for the mid-shots and close-ups (in Telugu films), I try to retain the nuances. Initially, I missed that flow. I was unable to make it look natural. Now, I am trying to remember the emotion and maintain it in those ten-second reaction shots.”

Samyuktha added that with Malayalam cinema, everything is natural including the looks. “In Telugu, you have to constantly take care of yourself and look at how you look on screen. A lot of effort goes into makeup and costumes. That was not really me when I started. In Malayalam, we are just ready in the morning and we just go. In Telugu, there would be this saree with pleats and someone would come running to correct the saree when I am taking a breath and in the mood to do the shot. There’s this slight interruption. That was not easy. It might sound silly but it was really difficult.”

On the work front, Samyuktha will return to Telugu with the film Suyambhu, starring Nikhil Siddhartha of Karthikeya fame. In Malayalam, she is part of Mohanlal’s anticipated film Ram.