In her mid-twenties, Shriya Saran enjoys doing ‘item’ numbers — in fact she shakes her hips like a dream — likes to read spirituality books, wolves down hot dosas and filter coffee first thing in the morning, and is capable of delivering one tight slap if provoked. A bundle of contradictions? You bet.
She also has some of the industry‘s biggest hits behind her and is busy with much-talked about films, like Deepa Mehta‘s What’s Cooking? and Kamal Haasan’s Marmayogi
Following Sivaji, where she was paired with Rajnikanth, this Haridwarborn actress has only taken one route: up. ‘‘I am a workaholic,’’ she states, back to the grindstone after a short holiday in London. Free of psychodrama, though sometimes she comes across as squeaky clean, the actress says all the right things. Bring up her bikini-clad Maxim shoot, which had everyone talking, and she shrugs, ‘‘It was just beach wear and it was a fun assignment, that’s all.’’ Her tone suggests that people should seriously move on! Of course it helps that her club of fans keeps growing, from British author Jeffrey Archer (he put up a photo of her on his blog after his India tour) to little kids next door
Unlike other stars, she prefers to keep a distance from fan clubs. But says she likes interacting with fans. ‘‘I like it when people come over and talk to me. Sometimes I like to be thrown at strangers and enjoy trying to understand them,’’ she says
The pretty actress is refreshingly forthright when we bring up the topic of men and their relentless eyeballing. In the news a few months ago, for giving it back to a man in Tirupati — he had misbehaved with her — she seems to be able to take care of herself. ‘‘You do something silly, and slap! That dude asked for it,’’ she says, carefully. ‘‘What irked me was that he had the balls to stand right there after misbehaving. If he had run away, I would have hardly chased him around the temple!’’ You wonder aloud if she ever dabbled in marital arts, and she chuckles, ‘‘Are you kidding? Look at my body, do you think I am capable of karate?’’ Proud to be South Indian after her Bollywood film, Mission Instanbul, bombed, Shriya seems to be busy in the South. ‘‘I’m not doing any Bollywood film at the moment,’’ she says. Instead, there’s Kandaswamy, with Vikram, where she has experimented with a different look. It is to be released this year. Filming is to begin for Deepa Mehta’s What’s Cooking?, where her co-star is Seema Biswas, and Kamal Haasan’s Marmayogi, — rumour has it that she plays his wife in the flashback sequence. Jaggu Bhai will see her playing Sharath Kumar’s daughter. However, coming up later this month is her first Hollywood film — Ashok Amritraj’s The Other End of the Line — also starring Desperate Housewives’ Jesse Metcalfe. To release in the US on October 31, 2008, the romantic comedy sees Shriya playing a call-centre girl who falls in love with an American in San Francisco
While Shriya has come a long way from her first music video — she insists that she doesn’t keep track of the number of films she has done — she prefers to be known as a South Indian actress. This despite being raised in Delhi — the trained Kathak dancer is also a literature graduate from Lady Shri Ram College in New Delhi. ‘‘My first movie,’’ she points out, ‘‘was Ishtam, a Telugu film, and almost all the movies I’ve done are from the South.’’ Later, reacting to accusations that she often does ‘‘light roles’’ and not character-driven projects, she declares, ‘‘I am who I am. In What’s Cooking?, I play a servant. It’s important for an actor to swing both ways…and I’m talking about doing glamourous and realistic roles!’’ (laughs) Coffee, spas and workouts Shriya loves food, but is trying to get back to being fit, after her London holiday. ‘‘I just let go in London, where I saw six musicals and a movie and ate like a pig,’’ she grins. Quiz her about her workout and she describes her ‘‘45 minutes of a serious workout, with lots of cardio.’’ Explaining that she prefers simple things, she adds, ‘‘I’m not too strict about what I eat
Just home-cooked food, especially dal and veggies and sambar. I love sambar.’’ There’s more
‘‘I’m an erratic personality,’’ she shrugs. ‘‘I get up when I get up and eat what’s in front of me, sometimes even filter coffee and dosa early in the morning.’’ When she’s in the city, she hangs out with pals like actress Trisha or gets a long massage at Aura, The Park. ‘‘I love massages, spas and coffee, especially the cold coffee at Mocha.’’ The clotheshorse Shriya’s style statement, especially off the sets, has been often appreciated by both designers and the media.In an earlier interview, designer Manish Malhotra had admitted that it was easy working on Shriya's wardrobe (Sivaji), thanks to her svelte figure. Chaitanya Rao (Kandaswamy), who does the actress’ wardrobe on request, says she is hands on when it comes to putting together her look for a movie. She is possibly the best when it comes to accessorising, he adds
Bring up the flak that came her way after her walk down the red carpet at IIFA 2008 and the actress smiles, “I sometimes go terribly wrong when I am given western clothes. But casual is easy, as is Indian.” About her personal choice of brands, she says, “I love everything from Armani. And Bebe fits like a glove, even if friends joke about the brand. Miss Sixty is so funky, the denim they have is unbelievable and perfect for an Indian figure.” From Kathak to spirituality ‘‘I always wanted to be a dancer,’’ she says, having studied kathak under Shobha Narayan)
Preferring to curl up with a book on the sets, when not working, she admits that she keeps to herself
“I love reading. I am currently reading India Unbound by Gurcharan Das. And How to Know God by Deepak Chopra. Mum is into positive thinking and she looks at all religions as one. I guess I got that from her. Also, working with Rajnikanth inspired me. He is so positive. The child in him has not got lost over the years. From him, I learnt to stay in touch with my roots and to be humble.” She also listens to music non-stop on her “old iPhone with Bose speakers” and is currently hooked on to the Beatles
Adventure junkie In college, Shriya used to rough it out with friends, trekking the Himalayas. She loves long walks and says holidays for her often means adventure. She describes her hang-gliding sessions in Queensland, scuba diving in the Maldives and bungee jumping in New Zealand. “I’ve been planning a scuba diving trip to Lakshwadeep for ages,” she confesses.
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