I try to balance both Tamil and Telugu cinema: Catherine Tresa

With her last two roles being that of a village belle and a tribal woman, Catherine Tresa is relieved that she's playing an urban character in this week's release, Kathanayagan. "How I look in this film is very much like what I'm like in real life," she says. The actress enjoyed being part of the rom-com that stars Vishnu Vishal. "We had great fun filming it. Unlike my recent films, I could relate a lot to this character. I'm sure all those who watch it will feel the difference," she adds. 

Given how similar the character is to who she is as a person, she also admits to finding her work relatively easy. "I didn't have to put too much thought into playing this character. For films like Madras and Kadamban, I really had to sweat." Her last film, Kadamban, didn't quite do well. "It is the hardest film I've done. We walked without footwear in jungles. We wanted good things for the film, and I was quite disappointed," she says.

The actress, who began her career with Malayalam and Kannada films, has become more active in Tamil and Telugu now. "I was studying in Bengaluru; that's how I got to do my first film in Kannada. Even then, I was clear that I wanted to get into the Tamil and Telugu film industries. I've always been an admirer of films made here," she says. "Telugu films have larger-than-life stories with a lot of singing and dancing that I love. The same happens in Tamil films too but here, the audience is more open to experiments. There's a lot more of content-oriented films and I'm glad I have done well in both languages."

She finds it funny when people from both industries çomplain that she's too busy with the other. "I try to achieve a balance but when I spend six months doing a Tamil film, people from Telugu cinema want to know why I'm not working there, but I do!" she laughs.

In Telugu cinema, Catherine's been part of mainly multi-starrers like Sarrainodu, Goutham Nanda, and Nene Raju Nene Mantri. "What's ultimately important is my character's importance. I am not a fan of roles where I have next to nothing to do. I think I have much to give to cinema," she says. "I get a lot of urban roles in Telugu while in Tamil, I have the opportunity of being part of films like Kadamban."

The actress will next be a part of the Telugu remake of Bogan which will star Ravi Teja. I ask her about the status of the Simbu-Selvaraghavan film, Kaan, that she'd begun shooting for. "I'm clueless. It's been a year and a half since I heard anything about it," she says.