Tollywood has always welcomed Malayali actresses whole-heartedly, be it Nayanthara, Mamta Mohandas, Meera Jasmine, Shamna Kasim aka Poorna, Remya Nambeesan or Karthika. And now, another Mollywood actress is set to join the league. Actress Priyaa Lal of 'Janakan' fame is all set to debut in Tollywood with director Raja Vannem Reddy's next. "It's a big-budget film and is set to start rolling by this month-end in Hyderabad and Ooty," an excited Priyaa tells us.
"I'll star opposite Tollywood actor Surya in the yet-to-be-titled flick, which will have me play a college girl. The venture has a fabulous crew on board, including composer Chakri, who has to his credit a number of hit songs," says Priyaa, whose introduction song, Olichirunne, in her M-Town debut, the Mohanlal-Suresh Gopi starrer Janakan, went on to be a huge hit. So, does she hope to repeat the magic? "By all means, yes!" she says with a laugh.
Meanwhile, on the Mollywood front, the actress is gearing up for the release of her first period flick, Kunthapura, set against the backdrop of the pre-independent era of the 1920s. "Kunthapura plots the story of a village in Mysore which rises up in rebellion against the Archaeological Survey of India, when it asks the villagers to evacuate from the region so that they can pursue their research on the historical significance of the village," informs Priyaa.
"The film progresses through the eyes of the role I play, Vasundhara Devi, a member of the Mysore royal family and an archaeology student. How her life gets entangled in the feud and fury in Kunthapura forms the crux of the story." Meanwhile, Priyaa has grabbed a film each in Kannada and Tamil, with which she'll make her presence in all four industries down south. "Both the projects are in its nascent stage; so I'll wait for the makers to make an official announcement before I talk about them," she signs off.