I will be part of good-quality cinema or no cinema at all: Sruthi Hariharan

She is one actor who came into the Kannada industry curious and excited to try any work that came her way. Sruthi Hariharan says, "I wanted to see and experience all that was there in the film industry.”

But, from this year, she has decided to revise her career plan. “I am going to make different choices,” she says, adding that she will only be part of the “best” even if it means that she may have only one film a year. "My New Year resolution is that I will be part of good-quality cinema or no cinema at all,"  the actor says.

She begins her year with Humble Politician Nograj, a political satire, in which she plays one of the lead characters. Sruthi has been paired opposite Roger Narayan, the couple playing a counterpoint to the Danish Sait-Sumukhi Suresh pair.

How does Sruthi fit into a political satire? "In the film there is this politician Nograj, his wife Lavanya (played by Sumukhi Suresh) and the peon Manjunath (Vijay Chendur) who are all caricatures of characters, as loud and funny people… Roger and I become the voice of reason. I play a regular citizen, like you and me, who is affected by day-to-day problems, including those with electricity, traffic, water and road. For example, we see men peeing on the road and mostly end up just talking about it. I am a citizen who recognises there is a problem in the country and reflects on it.”

Rama Patil (her character) has a streak of feminism, much like many women today, says Sruthi. "A lot of us feel we deserve to be treated equally and we fight for it… I felt good playing this role. Nothing overly dramatic or funny, I play a subtle and very real character.”

Sruthi liked working in a political satire. She says, "For the longest time, we haven't had a political film in Kannada. I remember only Accident, which was a good film. So I am happy to be part of this genre. Secondly, when we want to discuss what is wrong in society, we rely on narrative drama. But this is different, a comedy, and it still holds a mirror to you to say that this is where you get off. It is an extremely smart and intelligent film that caters to a wide audience.”