You can't win an audience by being predictable: Shanvi Srivastava

Time of India

9 hours ago

As an actor, my goals have evolved; I now aspire to be seen as a long-term contender rather than someone who was once a successful actor,' says
Shanvi Srivastava
. This shift in perspective is reflected in her recent film choices, particularly her upcoming Malayalam film directed by HK Prakash, which also stars Tom Shine Chacko.
Shanvi plays a grey character in what she describes as a 'new-age film' that explores the world of narcotics through a wacky lens.
'If there's one industry where I'd blindly trust a script without even asking who the lead is, it's Malayalam. The moment they asked for more dates for promotions than my actual shoot schedule, I knew this project was the real deal,' she says. Excerpts:
'Unpredictability is the best way to win an audience'
After exploring such a role in Richie Rich, Shanvi reveals she's now tackling another 'not-so-good' character in her upcoming film.
'My character in this new film is no Miss Goody Two Shoes. I know that's the kind of image I've had so far, but here, I'm stepping into a bossy, not-so-good space,' she says, adding, 'I've realised that unpredictability is the best way to win audiences. They would never expect me to turn out bad.
'
'After the big high in my career, came the lows'
Shanvi notes that she experienced a significant high with her last major commercial flick in Kannada, Avane Srimannarayana.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
They Were So Beautiful Before; Now Look At Them; Number 10 Will Shock You
Reportingly
Undo
'I had never experienced such a high before, and that role gave me so much,' she recalls. 'I remember meeting a big Tamil actor who told me they were considering me for a huge film after watching me in Avane Srimannarayana. That film didn't take off because of lockdown, and I can't help but think where I would have been professionally if that movie had happened.
' After Avane Srimannarayana's success, she took on two smaller Kannada films, Bang and Kasturi Mahal, which gave her a taste of working on smaller productions.
'Until then, I had only done big films with known actors. So, after the big high, came the lows,' Shanvi observes, and adds that it was this shift that changed her approach to selecting films: 'Now my judgment about picking films has also changed: I will pick technically strong teams, and look at doing long-term work rather than short-term success,' she says.
'A middle path must be found where all good films get their due'
Reflecting on the current pan-Indian trend, she observes, 'This is a concept that has worked like magic, but at the same time, it has created a distance between local films and what you term as 'pan-India films.'
So, you're either a superstar or you're a nobody. To be a pan-India film, the project needs to be of a certain scale. And smaller films never get a chance to be pitted in this scenario. It's just not fair. Aachar and Co was such a wonderful film.
But it didn't get the chance to be appreciated on a larger platform because it wasn't a pan-India film. Such films also need recognition. There had to be an amalgamation of the bigger films that go the whole distance across the nation and local films that stay in the region - a middle path must be found where all good films get their due,' says Shanvi.