Crossing the language barrier

Crossing boundaries seems to come easy to Kollywood’s latest entrant, Mehreen Pirzada. Heroine of Susindran’s Aram Seidhu Pazhagu (ASP) (C/o Surya in Telugu), Mehreen was spotted by him in Krishnagadi Veera Prema Gadha. The Punjabi lass who has made inroads into Bollywood with Phillauri, is now firmly ensconced in Tollywood with Mahanubhavudu, Raja The Great and Jawaan  in her kitty. She seems only too happy to set foot in Kollywood next. “I had heard of Susindran’s Na Peru Shiva. He saw my Telugu debut as Mahalakshmi and came to Hyderabad to narrate the story of ASP. I found my character, Janani, to be very entertaining and said yes immediately,” says Mehreen.

Though she doesn’t plan her life, she admits she’s ambitious, “I like to excel in everything I take up so naturally I want to be number one as an actor.” She certainly seems to have proved herself in whatever she’s taken up in the past. An air pistol shooting champion as a kid, she went on win at the state and district levels in Punjab. Her mom wanted her to excel in the arts as a child, so she even went to Bharathanatyam classes for a while. “I remember the mudras and the dance moves even now,” she grins. When life took her to Canada and the US for studies, she won the Ms South Asia Canada Best Personality title in 2013. “As a kid I remember being in love with the idea of being a Ms Universe!” she chuckles. “But I never thought about it seriously. I guess destiny put me on this path of showbiz and I moved to Mumbai to take up a career in films.” 

She seems quite happy to be anchored in the South, “Hyderabad has become home now. Punjabi is my native tongue but I don’t find language to be a barrier in films. You just need to connect with people through your emotions and I find people can relate to me easily.” Talking about connections, reminds her how much in sync she is with director Susindran. “He would speak in Tamil and I’d chat in English, yet we would understand each other perfectly.  He would act and show me what he wanted, but if an actor has anything to add, he incorporates that as well.”

ASP is an urban story shot in Chennai and Vizag, and Mehreen promises that Janani will be a very entertaining character on screen. She has no qualms about admitting that she admires her co-actors Nayanthara, Anushka Shetty, Kajal and Trisha. “I love their attitude and the way they present themselves. I’m a big fan of Nayanthara’s simplicity,” she adds.