Acting is what I do for work; it's not my identity: Regena Cassandrra

Time of India

3 days ago

The actress, who has now been roped in to play one of the leads in Madhur Bhandarkar's new film, The Wives, talks to us about her evolution as an actress over the years, the need for PR, being part of Mookuthi Amman 2 and why she's changed the way she spells her name.
Regena Cassandrra, who made her feature film debut with the 2005 film Kanda Naal Mudhal, completes 20 years in cinema this year. Talking to us about it, she says, 'I see why people would look at it as a milestone, but I'm not very over the top when it comes to these things.
Although, over the years, you may feel like you've not been so consistent with your work, but looking back, 20 years is a pretty long time. So, while I don't consider it a milestone, it makes me feel nice that I have been able to do this for as long as I have, and I still get to do work that people find commendable.'
The actress, who has now been roped in to play one of the leads in
Madhur Bhandarkar
's new film, The Wives, talks to us about her evolution as an actress over the years, the need for PR, being part of Mookuthi Amman 2 and why she's changed the way she spells her name. Excerpts:
'Most of my great work has been from 2018 onwards'
Describing her career as quite a roller coaster ride, Regena states, 'Around 2015-16, I didn't feel like working anymore.
But I sailed through it. In fact, I feel like most of my great work has been from 2018 onwards. I've understood that I shouldn't fall into any mould and restrict myself. When I was predominantly working in the Telugu industry in the early 2010s, we'd get our dialogues at 6.30am in the morning when I reached the set to do hair and makeup.
Telugu was an alien language to me back then, and I can't do prompting. So, I used to by heart my dialogues, understand the emotion, and put in enough energy into learning my lines so much so that I learnt the language.
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It was my way of picking up the language.'
'When I thought that acting could be a career option, I didn't know what it entailed'
Taking us through how she has evolved over the years, she states, 'I don't come from a film background, and neither did I have anyone around who's been in the industry. So, when I thought that acting could be a career option, I didn't know what it entailed. I thought I had to just go to shoot, act, and come back. As the years went by, I understood what PR and social media, etc., are. And I've grown, too.
I was initially very against all of it.
I was like, 'This can't be what gives me more opportunities than the others. My skill should be what speaks for me.' I learnt very early, but I accepted very late that I also need to get on the bandwagon and do all of it. I like my job, and I want to be given more offers where I can showcase why I like doing what I'm doing. To get those opportunities, I need to put my best foot forward. I need to be networking and have a social media team so that my social media is more aesthetic and managed well.
I guess it's been a wonderful learning of a lot of things, and especially of myself.'
'My roles in Mookuthi Amman 2 and The Wives are worlds apart'
Referring to Mookuthi Amman 2 as a 'crazy fantasy film', Regena shares, 'It's going to be amazing. I love my look in it. This is the first time I'm doing something like this. I like that even after being in this industry for 20 years, I can still say, 'Oh my god, I've not done this before'. After Vidaamuyarchi, I wanted to pick and choose my movies because I don't want to be typecast, and I got a call from Sundar C sir's office at that point.
Now, I know I won't be typecast because I'm currently doing Mookuthi Amman 2 in Tamil and The Wives in Hindi. My roles in both these films are worlds apart, and that's also what excites me. It's been quite a juggle because I finished four days of shooting over here for Mookuthi Amman 2, and I'm off to Bombay for The Wives. Then, I'm back here in Chennai to shoot for Mookuthi Amman 2.'
'I didn't want to write an open letter that said, 'Hey, now my spelling is Regena''
The actress now spells her name differently — from Regina Cassandra to Regena Cassandrra.
She admits it's "numerology" that's the basic reason. "Just like how we say Om has a vibration, I believe every word and letter has a vibration. It's not like I believed in numerology before. I probably believed in the person who was trying to help me in the form of numerology. I went to a numerologist and he gave me an understanding of what is what, and I pretty much related to it.
I have no hard and fast rules. And, if something needs to be done, I don't mind doing it.
I didn't want to write an open letter or share on my social media that said, 'Hey, now my spelling is Regena.' I wanted it to be organic, just like everything else in my life,' she says.
'Madhur Bhandarkar knows when to be a friend and when to be a director'
Talking about her experience working with Madhur Bhandarkar, Regena says, 'It's fun working with him. He knows when to be a friend and when to be a director. He doesn't cram in three or four scenes in a day. He plans the scenes perfectly, so much so that as an actor, you don't feel tired by the end of the day.'
On playing a negative character in Vidaamuyarchi
Regena says, "Magizh (Thirumeni) sir is a perfectionist and is frank about what he thinks. I really like his way of working. I loved the character he wrote for me in Vidaamuyarchi. Throughout my career, I've wanted to play someone with a psychological issue, and Deepika in Vidaamuyarchi was so well written that it gave me the confidence to perform.'