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Rhythm of her life

Happily married now, actress Laya wants to get back to her first love - classical dance

WAITING TO TAKE OFF Actor Laya Photo K. RAMESH BABU

In keeping with her name, she has invited true rhythm into her life - one in the symbolic sense and the other in the real sense of the term. One of the few young heroines of the Telugu film industry who was at ease in her mother tongue and naturally emotive, Laya was like a breath of fresh air that cannot be a permanent phenomenon.

Recently married (in June to be exact) to a radiation oncologist based in LA of the United States, Laya has simply bid goodbye to her film career. It is by no means an easy choice to make. "I kept myself rooted to the fact that a movie career for me would be thus far and no further. My marriage would not be an extension of my cinema life. I made my decisions long ago and also chalked out my future course to make the best use of my talent and interest in classical dance and, of course, academics.

For her, it was an arranged marriage, with her in-laws also settled abroad. "I am waiting for my visa. I would like to pick up the threads of my first love - dance, now that I can concentrate and give by best to it," she says, adding, " Multi-tasking is all right, but then in an art form like classical dance there is no fifty-fifty. It's got to be 100 percent dedication. I could not do that while handling a film career, though I could handle academics to a certain extent,'' she pauses trying to explain what she means.

A single child to a doctor father and a singer mother, Laya did her schooling in Nirmala High School, Vijayawada along with her coaching in Bharatanatyam under Guru Jyosula Sriramachandra Murthi.

When she was in her Intermediate first year, her first film offer came along. "And as I accepted it, I kept telling myself that this would be my first and last movie. As it so happened, offers came my way in the form of meaty roles worth the take." she confides. Coming from a traditional stock did that gel with her parents? "My mother would often tell me that not every girl could get such good opportunities to showcase her talent, no matter how gifted she is. And my father would want me to weigh the pros and cons of the characters I would choose to play with an eye on my personal future. Films like Manoharam for instance or the more recent K.Vishwanath's Swarabhishekam had challenging roles for me where I had ample scope to emote, to grow in characterisation and at the end of the day feel fulfilment as an artiste.'' Seriously into academics, Laya went ahead with EAMCET and got herself admitted to the EEE strain in Siddartha Engineering College. " I finished my first year but fell short of attendance with no waiver, I had to take a grave decision of my life to quit,'' she says. Not to be baffled, Laya went ahead to educate herself through IGNOU and today she is a proud MCA.

"I rekindled my dance practice with the help of Guru Pasumarthy Ramalinga Sastri. Despite my passion, I had to give Bharatanatyam a break because of my busy shoots. Fortunately for me, my husband is an art enthusiast who goes all out to encourage me. I plan to make trips to India with a string of dance performances in tow once I settle down in the US. My husband is going to be here just to watch my performance, though it's going to be problem for him to take off from his work,'' she says.

Winner of three Nandi awards, Laya's favourite role to date is her character in Missamma. "No regrets for leaving a lucrative career as I was here more out of my enthusiasm to act rather than the monetary returns. And I have lovely memories and roles to cherish for a lifetime. Now, I would like to give my personal life and dance my best," she signs off.

RANEE KUMAR

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