'Shyam Singha Roy' will hit the screens on December 24. In this interview, actress Sai Pallavi talks about the film, working with Natural Star Nani, director Rahul Sankrityan, her upcoming projects, and more.

Here are the highlights of what she said:

When I listened to the script, I imagined how it would be to essay a Devadasi on screen. While playing the character, I delved into the psyche of the character. I have fully believed in the character and I hope the audience are going to love it.

Dance played a crucial role in 'Love Story'. In 'Shyam Singha Roy', dance is not too important an element. Dance is there adequately. I am not a trained classical dancer. Director Rahul Sankrityan believed in me. I was definitely scared to do the song 'Pranavalaya'.

Multiple photo shoots were done to zero in on my look. From my costumes to other aspects, everything was meticulously done.

I did read about the Devadasi system as a school-goer. While it started out as a well-intentioned system, negative aspects crept into it as time passed. The director has explored the features of the system only to the extent that the script needed to.

I believe that the actor has to connect with her character at a deeper level if the performance has to be strong. Director Rahul knows well what he wants. He doesn't extract more than what is required. The last scene between me and Nani is the first scene that we shot together. We were confused and the director helped us in figuring it out. He asked us to react in a particular way. I would shun my perspective and do it according to his instructions. I have got scenes with Rahul Ravindran, among others.

Nani's character is ideological. My character is more about expressing her mind. She emotes more, while he speaks more.

'MCA', my previous film with Nani, had love scenes between us. In 'SSR', the scenes are more profound even though it's a love story here, too. We discussed more to evolve the scenes. In terms of entertainment, 'MCA' was more fun-filled. 'SSR' has been made from a different piece of cloth, given the premise and backdrop.

Culturally, I didn't get much time to experience the Bengali culture. I noticed that a lot of people follow Telugu movies there. They could identify me as the heroine of films like 'MCA' and 'Fidaa'. The people there treated us like guests and not as stars.

I couldn't promote 'MCA' due to viral fever. But I did promote 'Love Story' and other movies. I pick the movies I would enjoy watching. I did 'MCA' because I wanted to give it a try. But I enjoy 'Fidaa' type of movies more. If

I am mad about movies and that's what keeps me going. If you enjoy watching my films, that's a huge compliment for me. I thank my directors/writers for writing the characters that people love. An actor has to be confident about the character she is playing. We in the industry are connected only through work. After I go back home, my parents give me honest feedback. You should have someone who will critique you neutrally. Above all, it's important to respect yourself.

I have 'Virata Parvam' (whose shoot is completed) coming up in Telugu and a movie in Tamil, too, is on the cards. I have to dub for my current assignments. I will accept new offers after I am done with the current projects. I am open to do OTT projects if something exciting comes my way.