‘Slight talent, good looks give you break in India’

It's common knowledge that Lakshmi Manchu comes with a Hollywoodian experience.  She had done a TV series there in Los Angeles before arriving in Telugu film industry in her late 30s.  As someone with such an experience, the Manchu lady may well be qualified to comment on what it takes to strike the right chords in Hollywood vis-a-vis Tollywood.

"You can be slightly talented and pretty-looking and can get a break. Very few people here go to acting school, but in Hollywood, they first look at which acting school you went to," she tells a famous journalist, adding that training matters a lot there.

In an excellent interview where Lakshmi has spoken her mind, she throws the light on women's empowerment in the film industry as well as nepotism.  Despite being the daughter of a thespian, says the actress, she hasn't had it easy in the industry.