'I have a few similarities with Tanuja'

Saptha Pavoor got her big break in Rishab Shetty’s Sa.Hi.Pra. Shale, and she had an important role to play in Shivarajkumar’s Bairaagi. Now, the child actor-turned-heroine is set to play the lead in Harish MD
Halli’s Tanuja.

The award-winning director’s next is based on a real incident about a farmer’s daughter, and her struggle to write the NEET exam during the pandemic. Ahead of the film’s release on February 3, Saptha tells us that she too is doing her PCMB, and felt a very personal connect with the character.  “This is my seventh film, and I get to play a protagonist in such a compelling real-life story, which was a different experience,” says Saptha.

While she got a lot of help from Harish, Saptha reveals that she could not meet the girl on whom the film is made, but she did speak to the girl’s mother, who gave her inputs about the character. “With the inputs, I think  I’ve done justice to the role of Tanuja.”

Saptha says there are a lot of similarities between her and the character, Tanuja. “It was Tanuja’s dream to become a doctor, and her tale about achieving it is an inspiring one. I also have an aim to achieve, and I am putting my efforts into getting into the field of research. From what little I know about Tanuja, she was not into just studies and was also into other curricular activities. I am very similar in that aspect too. Apart from academics, I also trained in dancing and was shooting for films. That is one of the reasons I could play the character with ease,” says Saptha.

Interestingly, the film features real-life politicians like former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, who is appearing on the silver screen for the first time. It also features Minister Dr K Sudhakar and noted journalist Vishweshwar Bhat. Tanuja also features Rajesh Nataranga as a pivotal character.

Backed by Beyond Visions Cinema in association with Shoora Entertainments, Tanuja has music composed by Praddyottan.