Princess Diaries: Dancer Shreema Upadhyaya talks about her role in ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’

Express News Service

BENGALURU:   It was the first-ever time that city-based dancer Shreema Upadhyaya saw herself on the big screen when Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’ released on Friday. Upadhyaya, who plays the role of Maathuli, the Rashtrakuta princess, is still processing the feeling which is yet to sink in. 

A Bharatnatyam dancer herself, who is trained to master her expressions, Upadhyaya looked every bit her role. “It was during the pandemic that I was asked to be a part of the film. We shot the movie in 2021,”says Upadhyaya whose role came with very limited screen time. 

Admitting that she had no idea about the movie, she is grateful for the opportunity. “Honestly, I wasn’t aware of this movie being shot. But somehow, they got to know about me, connected and told me that they would like me to audition for the role. However, it was not this role that I auditioned for initially. Later, the team felt Maathuli’s character would suit me better. Since I’m not an actor, I was really looking forward to my first experience,” she adds.

Working with Ratnam is on the checklist of many seasoned actors, however, Upadhyaya’s first movie was with him. The city-based dancer was awestruck by the precision that the veteran director works with. “He knew exactly what he wanted and he is a visionary. Since he led the way, that help everybody who worked with him. He functioned with a certain amount of clarity. He knew what exactly had to be done. With that kind of conviction, everything moved smoothly even if it was such a large-scale film,” she says.

Upadhyaya’s role was such that she didn’t have many scenes with the other actors but she says it was still thrilling for her to see her name in the same poster as other top actors from the south Indian industry, “These are the people I grew up watching – be it Aishwarya Rai, Trisha or anybody else. I have always loved Sobhita (Dhulipala). I have great admiration for all of them. Even though I didn’t have scenes with them, I did see them on the sets prepping for their parts,” says Upadhyaya, adding, “Being a Kannadiga, I have watched a lot of Tamil films growing up. I could hardly process anything because I couldn’t leave my set there. I think all of it sunk in much later.”

The news of being in a magnum Mani Ratnam film was thrilling for Upadhyaya’s family as well. “I don’t think they really expected this to happen. I’ve been clear about how I was an artiste so this came out of the blue. So everyone was taken aback by it,” recalls Upadhyaya, who is now working on another Tamil project, along with her dance career. 
 

<br /> BENGALURU:   It was the first-ever time that city-based dancer Shreema Upadhyaya saw herself on the big screen when Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’ released on Friday. Upadhyaya, who plays the role of Maathuli, the Rashtrakuta princess, is still processing the feeling which is yet to sink in. </p> <p>A Bharatnatyam dancer herself, who is trained to master her expressions, Upadhyaya looked every bit her role. “It was during the pandemic that I was asked to be a part of the film. We shot the movie in 2021,”says Upadhyaya whose role came with very limited screen time. </p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Admitting that she had no idea about the movie, she is grateful for the opportunity. “Honestly, I wasn’t aware of this movie being shot. But somehow, they got to know about me, connected and told me that they would like me to audition for the role. However, it was not this role that I auditioned for initially. Later, the team felt Maathuli’s character would suit me better. Since I’m not an actor, I was really looking forward to my first experience,” she adds.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <p>Working with Ratnam is on the checklist of many seasoned actors, however, Upadhyaya’s first movie was with him. The city-based dancer was awestruck by the precision that the veteran director works with. “He knew exactly what he wanted and he is a visionary. Since he led the way, that help everybody who worked with him. He functioned with a certain amount of clarity. He knew what exactly had to be done. With that kind of conviction, everything moved smoothly even if it was such a large-scale film,” she says.</p> <p>Upadhyaya’s role was such that she didn’t have many scenes with the other actors but she says it was still thrilling for her to see her name in the same poster as other top actors from the south Indian industry, “These are the people I grew up watching – be it Aishwarya Rai, Trisha or anybody else. I have always loved Sobhita (Dhulipala). I have great admiration for all of them. Even though I didn’t have scenes with them, I did see them on the sets prepping for their parts,” says Upadhyaya, adding, “Being a Kannadiga, I have watched a lot of Tamil films growing up. I could hardly process anything because I couldn’t leave my set there. I think all of it sunk in much later.”</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>The news of being in a magnum Mani Ratnam film was thrilling for Upadhyaya’s family as well. “I don’t think they really expected this to happen. I’ve been clear about how I was an artiste so this came out of the blue. So everyone was taken aback by it,” recalls Upadhyaya, who is now working on another Tamil project, along with her dance career. <br />  <br />