As she continues to bag exciting roles in Telugu and other languages, Shriya Saran in this interview talks about her character in 'Gayatri', which releases on Feb 9. She shares the experience of working with director Madan. Among other things, she also says why learning a classical dance form helps.

Mohan Babu was all praise for you at the audio release event on Sunday. What is your role like in the movie?

I have played a village woman's role in the movie. She likes reading, she speaks her mind, is very honest, is very innocent. It's director Madan's story narration that made me do this film. My character is quite natural and realistic.

The writing part must be great as senior writers like Paruchuri Brothers, too, got involved. How was it shooting for this movie?

For the time I shot for the movie, it was a great experience. A beautiful song has also been picturized on me. The costumes are quite interesting. The director was so cool and made everyone comfortable. It was a nice experience working with him. Even difficult scenes looked easy.

You recently bagged a multi-lingual project in which you are going to play a woman in an urban slum. Earlier, you had done a film opposite Balakrishna. What is the secret behind your longevity in the film industry?

I must say that it's because of the kind of roles that writers are penning for me. Also, my choices have mostly worked in my favour. In that, I am lucky. I don't manage at all. I just live.

I don't understand why only here are heroines asked as to how they survived for long in the industry. It's not the case in Hollywood.

How do you look back at the kind of roles you played in the early years?

There was a time when I was part of five songs and twenty-five scenes and yet such roles had no substance for me. A woman is not just one thing. She is also working. She performs so many roles. She is smart. You have to depict them in films.

I am glad that I have only got love and appreciation in my career. I have no bad experience.

You know Kathak. How does knowing a classical language help?

Knowing a classical dance form helps a lot. By doing something repeatedly, one's mind becomes sharper. It teaches you dedication.

What are your upcoming movies?

'Veerabhoga Vasantha Rayalu' in Telugu is one of my upcoming movies. I am doing 'Naragasooran' with Karthik Naren in Tamil. Gnana Sekhar VS, the cinematographer of 'Gautamiputra Satakarni', is going to produce a film. This will be directed by Sujana. In all these cases, it's the script that prompted me to do them.