Nivetha Pethuraj is slowly making waves in the South Indian movie industry. Born and raised in Dubai, Nivetha made her mark in the Indian movie industry having acted in Telugu and Tamil movies. Nivetha delivered a stellar performance in her debut movie, Mental Madhilo, which became a superhit and got critics raving at her natural acting. Since then, Nivetha acted in movies like Chitralahari, Brochevarevaruva and the recently released Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, in which she played the role of Nandini.
In an exclusive interview, Telugu Filmnagar caught up with the talented Nivetha Pethuraj to talk about her debut movie Mental Madhilo, her dream roles and her next movie with Ram.
Read more to learn about the interview.
Did you ever think that your debut movie in Telugu Mental Madhilo would receive such rave reviews?
So when I signed Mental Madhilo, I was just one Tamil film old and the producer Raj Kandukuri and Vivek sir had come to Theni. I was shooting there for my second film and they signed this (Mental Madhilo) contract. I felt like something was very positive. I felt that connection with the Telugu audience already but I never knew Mental Madhilo will reach so many places because I still keep receiving messages about Swetcha, my character in Mental Madhilo. So yeah! I am happy that Mental Madhilo happened.
Tell us about your role in Red. How was it working with Ram Pothineni?
So, I think everybody knows, Red is Thadam’s remake. I have done a cop role. It is a very beautiful character, I haven’t watched Thadam,the film, because I didn’t want the character to influence me in any way. So I had to keep it very natural, the way Kishore sir wants it, you must have seen Chitralahari. His expectations are very minute, even the expressions that he wants are very very very minute and if I get influenced in any way, he goes for one more take. So I was very careful about that.
It is a beautiful cop role and she has her own set of easiness to the character. It comes out very well and working with Ram, he is a wonderful artist, his dedication is too good. He is very good on sets and he has a weird sense of humour that I still do not understand, he knows that. He is a very nice warm person to be around and work with and likewise with the whole team. I have worked with Kishore (director) sir already, Ravi Kishore sir the producer of the film is also very sweet and they all come front the same family right, so they are all nice people to work with. The movie has come out very well, Ram is a good person, I think I have made my point.
You studied in the UAE. After that, how did films happen?
So I studied in UAE and in 2015 there was a pageant called Miss India of UAE. So I participated in that and I won it and it had come in the local newspaper in Chennai and one of the directors saw it and yeah, that’s how I got a call for the first ever film.
If not an actress, what would you have been today?
Umm, I would have been a lot of things because I like exploring in the field of events and advertisements and everything actually including motor companies. So far I would have worked with about 150-200 companies in events alone. I had great exposure to a lot of different companies so I loved doing all my jobs, any job that I did. I was a waitress and I worked for Rolls Royce, I worked for Chanel, Dior, so starting from the fashion brands to selling a water bottle. I really enjoyed my work, so I think I would have done this and that, bits and pieces of literally everything.
One Actor and one director whom you want to work with?
Ummm, there are a lot of directors I wanna work with, I think I wanna work with Mani Ratnam sir because I auditioned with him twice. So, hopefully it will happen sometime. Umm, I can’t say one actor because everybody has different skills and I want to see them all.
You have been part of different genre films like Tik Tik Tik, Chitralahari and Brochevarevarura. What is it that you look for in a film to agree?
I look for a few things, the first thing is the vibe, like how the team’s vibe is. Second thing is the story, third thing is the soul of the movie which is the director’s point of view like what he is trying to say through the film. Ummm, cast and crew everything comes later, so these three are the first main things that I see in a film.
Do you have any dream roles?
Umm dream roles, Yes, Any biopic! I want to do a biopic.
If given a chance to choose a biopic film, whose biopic would you choose?
Maybe Kalpana Chawla. It will be really different because I have already done a space film and yeah, it will be believable, I guess!
You have acted in both Tamil and Telugu Movies. Did you find any differences between these industries?
There is not a huge difference as such but I think in Tamil film industry it is more like I am having Veetu Saapadu, sitting at home and eating food whereas in Telugu industry it is like sitting at a cafe and sipping Latte. Yeah, I mean, that is the best way I can differentiate between both!
We at Telugu Filmnagar wish Nivetha Pethuraj all the very best for her career and hope to see her entertain the audiences with many more films in the future.
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