It was not easy for Shekar Kammula to entice Amala Akkineni into doing a role in Life Is Beautiful. She had to be approached again and again, and much persuasion had to be done before he could extract a yes from her.

"I kept pursuing her by repeatedly calling her up or going to meet her personally. I was always particular that she should do the role. For 3-4 months, we were not sure whether she would accept or deny the role," Kammula says.

She may have dilly-dallied on accepting the role for several months, but there is a reason why Amala accepted to do the role rather belatedly (strictly speaking it was not too late for the movie, which was in the making for 18 months).

"He insisted that I do the role, saying that it was an amazing role for me. However, I was always reluctant to face the camera after so many years. I had done 50 films in a span of 7 years, but I was not willing to do a film now. I realized that the role in LIB was tempting for a reason. I play mother of two daughters, and being a mother of male children, I found it tempting to accept the role, finally", she reveals.

Watch Amala in 'Life is Beautiful'