Netra Srikanth makes a smooth transition from a musical career to one in front of the camera
TINY BEGINNINGS Netra plays a small but significant role in the movie
Musicians doubling into actors is a trend that has been around as long as Indian cinema. The penchant continues up to now, including the likes of Vasundhara Das. The most recent addition to this list is the misty-eyed Netra Srikanth, who is all set to make her debut in the Ramesh Aravind directed “Satyavaan Savitri”.
“I was comfortable with the role and Ramesh is a good friend of mine. That was enough for me to sign up for the project,” said the actor. Netra, who has never had any formal training in acting before, is basically an art promoter and musician, and was not really clued in to cinema’s nitty-gritty until she received the offer six months back.
Netra, who plays a small and significant role in the movie, thinks it’s a “good start” for her. “I play an important role and my appearance works as the catalyst to the film’s climax.” The movie, which is a comedy of errors, is a film for the masses. Acting in a comedy is a real treat for Netra as it happens to be her favourite genre. As a cinema-goer she has always watched comedy flicks to escape life’s problems, she says.
Netra has tried and ignored the genre of drama as much as possible because it deals with the bittersweet nature of life. But was it easy for her to face the camera for the first time? The musician in her came out as she replied: “I have been performing on stage since I was a kid, and so I don’t suffer from stage fright. Facing the camera was no problem at all.” So with a good entry in films, Netra would like to take a pop-actor’s path and do lead roles eventually. Just like every other mainstream actor she is of the opinion that lead roles are far more rounded and pose greater challenge to the actor.
Incidentally Netra hails from Boston, and is not fond of the Boston accent. Delivering Kannada dialogues was not a problem as she has grown up listening to her parents speak Kannada at home. But because of her accent, director Ramesh Aravind has decided to dub her voice for the film.
Like any other newcomer in India’s ever-growing regional film industry Netra looks at Bollywood as an alluring prospect. But the language barrier remains the great divide. “I would like to live in India for a while and get acquainted with the language and the culture and only then will I look at targeting Bollywood.”
Godfathers are always supposed to be a helping hand for newcomers and in that aspect Netra has found the goldmine in renowned actor Kamal Hassan, a “good friend” of hers. “An extremely encouraging actor and incredibly supportive of my work,” she smiles.
As she is a musician herself trained in western classical, Netra commented on the lack of attention towards western classical music in the Indian music scenario. “Chances of playing ensembles are very less here…it’s more of fusion.”
So with a blooming film career in sight and a makeshift musical career Netra looks to establish herself as a multi-faceted individual. What remains to be seen is whether she will be accepted by the ever-critical audience as “Satyavan Savitri” hits the big screen on June 9.
DEBAYAN DEB
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