Kiara Advani will be seen in 'Vinaya Vidheya Rama', which releases on January 11. In this interview, she talks about her role in the Boyapati movie, her experience of doing the film, getting to work with Ram Charan, having debuted with Mahesh Babu and more.

My first mass film

The experience of playing the role was very different, given that the film is different. The entire big star cast felt like a big family on the sets. Everything was larger-than-life. It's my first mass commercial film. The songs, the dance, the hi-tech reality - they all make it a mass commercial film.

Chemistry with Ram Charan

The director has got so much conviction in his characters and the script. As an actor, you want to try every kind of role. In the family, they are like Ram and Sita. They are traditional. When they are by themselves, it's Sita who is the boss. She bosses over him, teases him, etc. They have got interesting chemistry. I love dancing and I finally got that chance to dance so much with this film. I am happy for that. My hero and my director are known for this kind of genre.

Boyapati knows it with precision

I believe in the director, be it in any language. I surrender to his vision and story. So, the switchover was not difficult. During narration, he narrates with BGM. It feels like you are in the cinema hall already. I could relate to the character immediately. The character has the fun factor, is comic relief. You expect the girl to be a subservient one, but the way the rom-com track is narrated, it's entirely new.

Captivating the audience

It's important for an actor to be able to engage the audience for the time he or she is on the screen. The audience has to be captivated. That's the measure for success.

I believe in spontaneity

My approach is spontaneous, usually. I prefer to be spontaneous while playing slice-of-life and light-veined characters. It's important to be natural. I feel Charan is also like that. He used to create to my acting. With 'VVR', my main preparation pertained to learning the lines. I shouldn't look strained while saying the lines. Different films are different. In my next, I am playing a Punjabi character. There are certain nuances that I have to bring to my personality, body language, the way I speak. I am having to take tuition, etc for this role because it's not easy to be spontaneous. It depends on the role. By and large, I am spontaneous. A director wants to mould you the way he wants to see it. You have to be as transparent and receptive as you can.

Dancing with Ram Charan

It was most fun dancing with Charan. I have learned Bharatnatyam and Kathak as a school-goer. I learned that Charan feels I am his favourite dancing partner. The choreographers were very helpful. The 'Rama Loves Sita' song is my favourite as it has 800 dancers in the backdrop. The energy we put into that song was huge. My fingers are crossed over how the audience will receive it.

No action scenes

I am not doing any action sequences in the movie. I will be seen in some of the action scenes. I don't want to give any spoilers.

Dream come true with Mahesh sir

I believe that with time opportunities come to you and you have to grab them. 'MS Dhoni' made me a household name. That got me closer to the audience. When Namrata (Mahesh Babu's wife) saw me in that film, she was intent that I should do a Telugu movie. It was a dream launch for me to be cast opposite Mahesh sir. I had watched 'Srimanthudu', which I love a lot. Hard work, talent and opportunity come together, it helps. The Telugu audience has been lovely. A lot of my producers and directors who have seen 'BAN' have liked me. It's very difficult for an actor to make a mark opposite a superstar. The screen time for me in 'BAN' was not excessive. Despite that, I made a mark. It gave me that motivation and confidence that I can contribute and I can push myself when someone believes me. That's why I believe quality is more important than quantity.

Boundaries are blurring now

The way I look at it, I want to be a pan-Indian actress. I don't differentiate between south and north movies. We can't deny the fact that 'Baahubali' changed everything. There are many multilinguals happening. Platforms like Netflix are changing things. The lines are blurring. I want to reach out to as many people as I can, be it in any language. My film 'Lust Stories' on Netflix reached out to a global audience. I have to engage as many people as I can.

I had no inhibitions

As for 'Lust Stories', it was Karan Johar's call to cast me. I am a huge fan of him. He does very few films. I thought he was calling me up for a party and not for any film. I couldn't believe that he called me up for casting me. He promised me that people will see me as an actor in the female-oriented script. I had no inhibitions, apprehensions to do it. It was a comically and sensitively done film; it was not vulgar at all. We did no rehearsals for the role.

'Kabir Singh' in Hindi is shaping up well

'Kabir Singh' (Hindi remake of 'Arjun Reddy') is shaping up so well. I am a huge fan of Vjay Deverakonda. He is outstanding as an actor. Shalini Pandey too lived the role. I have to live up to it. It's our version of Kabir and Preethi. Comparisons will definitely be there. We are really working hard. We have shot the climax portion, which is a heavy scene. Sandeep sir is very happy. It's his happy and he knows the characters more than anyone else. He is a genius.

Bonding with wives of Charan, Mahesh

Because I have worked with their husbands, I have bonded with them. I get along well with Namrata, who is also from Mumbai. With Upasana, we just clicked very easily. If you give me home food, you will be my best friend for life. You don't know how much I love home food. Every time I am in Hyderabad, Upasana sends me home food. Charan and Mahesh sir are very family-oriented people. I have seen some of the dubbed movies of Charan.

Charan as a secret account

Charan has a secret Instagram account. His joke is that he doesn't need to be public because we (I and Upasana) promote him anyway. Everybody is on Insta, let me tell you.

Let the Telugu audience want me more

I have to know the language better so that it helps me as an actor. I am picking up Telugu. I feel if the Telugu audience wants to watch me more and more, I will definitely do more and more films. Good films are my priority. Films that I want to watch are the films I want to do.