Manmadhudu female lead Anshu is back to Telugu cinema after many years and she talks about her sudden disappearance, her studies, marriage and what makes her comeback…
suresh kavirayani
Remember the classic film ‘Manmadhudu’ that stars Nagarjuna and Sonali Bendre, directed by Vijay Bhaskar and written by Trivikram Srinivas. The film was released in 2002 and another actress Anshu also played a female lead along with Sonali and she made her mark with it. Anshu acted then in ‘Raghavendra’ opposite Prabhas. Later, she acted in a Tamil film and then she disappeared from the film industry.
After more than 20 years, Anshu is back to Telugu cinema and this time she is acting in a film titled ‘Majaka’. She paired opposite Rao Ramesh in his entertainment film. When asked why people called her Anshu Ambani, Anshu Tiwari or with some other surnames, the actress clarified about it. “The surname Ambani is a very popular one as well as known, but I have never been an Ambani. I have no idea how they added it to my name. I am Anshu, I married Sachin Sagar and if you want to add my surname you can call me Anshu Sagar, but I would be happy if everyone called me Anshu,” said the actress.
Anshu acted in only three films and she disappeared suddenly from the industry, though she was successful. “Yes, because I was very young when I did ‘Manmadhudu’ and I was not mature enough to think at that time. If I was 24, I may have taken my career seriously, but I was hardly 14 or 15 at that time. So, I concentrated on my studies. I married Sachin Sagar at 24. I have two lovely children and I did my masters and now I am a qualified psychologist. I have my own clinic. I don’t have any regrets,” said Anshu about her disappearance.
When asked what made her come back to films, Anshu said that it was after the rerelease of her film ‘Manmadhudu’. “Actually, Annapurna Studios asked her to give a byte about ‘Manmadhudu’ and that’s when Anshu changed. She came to India last February and did a couple of podcast interviews which went viral and people came to know that she was here. Actually it also opened up some doors and a few people contacted me for roles,” said Anshu. That’s how writer Prasanna Kumar contacted her and narrated this ‘Majaka’ in a zoom call.
When they saw Anshu’s photos and also videos, they thought that she may fit in as the lead actress, sister or mother wherever she can fit. “When they asked me, I couldn’t give them an answer, because I don’t know where I stand, I am not like Madhuri or Kajol. I am younger than Deepika Padukone. But after ‘Majaka’, filmmakers have an idea where they can fit me, which I feel helps me to take the right decision also,” said Anshu.
To accept ‘Majaka’, Anshu said that she liked the story. “When Prasanna Kumar narrated me on Zoom, I was laughing continuously. There is a lot of scope to perform and it’s a heavy role. People might say that ‘she is back’ and I tried my best,” she said. She added that the first day of the shoot where she faced the camera, she was nervous. “I haven’t worked in a movie in the last 23 years, so I was very nervous and like a newcomer. But everyone was really nice on the sets, I know about the makers of the film, because they are doing some good films. After day two and three, I was fine and continued shooting without any trouble,” said Anshu. She said that the biggest challenge she faced while shooting this film was ‘language’. “I am taking Telugu lessons now. My teacher Surekha teaches me Telugu and I want to work for a long time, I want to connect with the Telugu audience fully. I am a British Indian, but now I am learning Telugu, and will keep doing my best,” she said.
Talking about her role in this film, she said she played the role of Yashoda. “She is headstrong and stubborn, arrogant woman and at the same time she is emotional also. I just got into the character of Yashoda and tried my best to play the role,” said Anshu. She paired opposite Rao Ramesh in the film. “He is such a gentleman, he is very sweet. He has completed his dubbing. He saw my performance and told me that I did very well, which I feel very happy about,” said Anshu.
The actress said that a lot changed from then to now in these 23 years. “When I came back to London I was doing my studies and I wanted to sign up for an agency for any roles in British or American films. They would decline my applications, what films you did, we never heard about them, no value of South Cinema. But now, things have changed so much, it has become more united,” she said. She added that her husband is now watching Telugu and Tamil films even though he doesn’t know the language. “He is enjoying watching South films,” said Anshu. Her family members are coming next week to watch her film here in Hyderabad.
“Whether I am playing a mother, lead actress or sister, if the role has some substance, then I just want to act again,” she said the kind of roles she is looking for. Talking about the food, “Once or twice in a month, I had Hyderabad biryani and it’s very good,” she said. “I love doing the gym,” she added. She did ‘Raghavendra’ with Prabhas and asked about him, Anshu recalls and that Prabhas has changed, but he didn’t change much as a person. “He came in his second film after ‘Eswar’, I came after ‘Manmadhudu’. At that time he was so sweet, shy, kind and calm. He is so good,” said Anshu. She added that he is definitely a humble star.
