Minsara Kanavu: 18 years after beginning her acting career, South actress Samyuktha is all set to make her Bollywood debut with Maharani: Queen of Queens, which will see Kajol and Prabhu Deva reunite onscreen after 27 years since Minsara Kanavu (also known as Sapna in Hindi). The teaser of Maharani shows Kajol in a never-seen-before action avatar beating up bad guys and making an entry like a quintessential and larger-than-life South hero. Samyuktha will also be seen packing some powerful punches in the film. Sharing an update on Maharani, Samyuktha exclusively told News18 Showsha, “We are shooting part-by-part. They have completed one schedule which included major portions of Kajol ma’am’s action sequences. Another schedule which included my introduction and some car chase sequences with me has also been completed. We had a lot of fun! They called in an action director from abroad and the way they planned everything was amazing. I feel very grateful.” While 95 per cent of the film is still to be shot, Samyuktha is thrilled that she has already got the opportunity to shoot a few scenes with Kajol and Naseeruddin Shah. So, was she nervous about it? “It’s always good if your co-stars are cool, good to talk to and ready to initiate a conversation. We did a photoshoot with the three of us and it was really fun!” she says.
The Bheemla Nayak and Vaathi actress appreciates her senior co-stars for putting in a lot of effort to make her feel comfortable. Sharing an anecdote, she comments, “With Naseeruddin sir, I felt like I was having a conversation with my grandfather (laughs). During the shoot, he had to hold a glass of wine and he started explaining to me that ‘daaru’ actually means medicine. Because he was talking to me openly, I was able to be myself. It was only when I took a step back and paused for a moment to think, that I realised where I was and who I was working with.” She further added, “When I was shooting my close-ups, Kajol ma’am was helping me with cues. It was really great. I was stressed not because of her but because I wanted to get my Hindi dialect right. She has a lot of experience and I didn’t want to give her the impression that I wasn’t ready. I don’t know how, but I finally did it.” Samyukta believes that a film like Maharani will open a new door in many ways. “After hearing the story of Maharagani, one of the big things that our director (Charan Tej Uppalapati) and I sat down and discussed was how he wanted to present two women in an action-packed avatar. The conversation was about why should the boys have all the fun? Maharagani is a true commercial film, with songs and fight sequences. The action is being done by us. It is very interesting to be a part of such a film.” Maharagani is being touted as a high-budget pan-India action thriller that will release in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages. It also stars Jisshu U Sengupta, Chaaya Kadam and Aditya Seal.
