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Priyamani: My role in Anna Bond is not author-backed

Priyamani is on home turf. The national award winning actress, who is also a Bangalorean, has been busy working on a slew of Kannada film projects back-to-back.

Priya dubbed for herself in the Kannada film Ko Ko for the first time and is involved in Lakshmi (opposite Shivarajkumar) and Charulatha, in Kannada, and Grandmaster in Malayalam opposite Mohanlal.

Priya's latest film Anna Bond is releasing on May 1 (Tuesday) across Karnataka in which she stars opposite Puneeth Rajkumar.

 In this interview with Srikanth Srinivasa, Priya Mani talks about Anna Bond.

What is your role in Anna Bond?

I play Meera, who is a documentary film-maker. She is part of a crew that visits villages imparting education to villagers against superstitions.

In due course she meets Puneeth's character in the film. What happens between the two of them is what the film is all about. It is a pretty interesting character.

How did you come to accept this role?

 I was shooting for Ko Ko with Srinagar Kitty in Kukke when I got the news that director Suri wanted to talk to me.

Once I was back in Bangalore, Suri came home and narrated the story to me. My role was so interesting that I instantly said 'yes' to the film.

''Anna Bond has got a lot of comical situations'

What is it that appealed to you about the film?

The whole script appealed to me. The script has got a lot of comical situations. There is comedy, action and sentiment. It is a total package.

The film has a very good director, fantastic production house and Puneeth as its hero. What else do you need?

The film runs on a powerful screenplay. It is very difficult to narrate the story which has lots of twists and turns.

Do we get to see a performance-oriented role from you in this film?

I can say that it is a different film. I will not say it is an author-backed role or something like that.

There is scope for performance. All that I can say is that I have given my 100 per cent to my role.

'Puneeth is a fabulous actor'

How was it to work with Puneeth after Raam in which you were paired together?

It is always great working with friends. We became good friends after working together in Raam.

The comfort level we share will be obviously seen on the screen. Puneeth is a fabulous actor, and a good dancer. It is always a pleasure working with him.

What sort of costumes have you worn in the movie?

I have gone with casuals--jeans and salwars. We shot two songs in Spain and one song in Malaysia.

I have worn different costumes for the song Boni... and the visuals are also different. I hope the audiences will like it.

'I have not dubbed for the film'

Have you dubbed for yourself in this film?

No. I didn't have the dates to dub for my role though I did want to do it. I dubbed for the first time in Ko Ko and I found it good as I finished it in three days.

Is it true that you have signed a two-film contract in Hindi?

Yes, I have signed a two-film contract. But it is too early to talk about them.