I want to be remembered: Swati

It just took a 22-year old Swathi's dialogue ' Naku Mahesh Kavali' in Astachamma for Tollywood to shed its notions that a heroine ought to be exorbitantly unnatural and aggressively expose her skin, to draw the crowds. With the girl next door looks and realistic expressions, this young Telugu ammayi managed to trickle the funny bones of the audience and raised the critics eyebrows.Swati who came to limelight with her show 'Colours' in a Telugu channel, and is already three movies old in Tollywood, won accolades from film critics for her performance in the Tamil flick ' Subramaniapuram' a story that dates back to 1980's.

Sources confirm that director Maniratnam who watched the film was impressed with her performance. Swati reveals that she learnt to read write and speak Tamil fluently on the sets of this movie to play the role.

"The movie was screened for Maniratnam. Though he didn't personally call me and appreciate my work, I got to know from my director that he liked my performance. It came as a surprise for me" Swati says. " I enjoyed working for the film in the scorching sun for 100 long days at Madurai. My mom learnt a bit of Tamil and gave me ' learn Tamil in 30 days' book which helped me with the basics. On the sets, I have managed to pick quite a lot of it and after shooting for 100 days, I even gave dubbing for my character in Tamil. ' Naa ippo nallave Tamil pesren'" she laughs.

Working for 'Kalavaramaye Madilo', in Telugu, this B.Sc. graduate from St. Mary's will soon act in yet another Tamil movie. She says for now she has no plans to further her studies as she is only focusing only on her film career."I believe in giving my best to whatever I do. I was studying and working for films simultaneously during my graduation and I know it is tough to give your best at the same time. I don't want to be doing a correspondence course and flaunt that I am pursuing my studies." she explains.

Swati whose TV show ' Colours' did miracles for her, opines that the people can't exploit an actress in Tollywood if the girls know how to carry themselves." For me fortunately, Tollywood has not been a twisted place. I have never faced problem with anyone in the industry. I haven't approached any producer for roles. Each movie of mine brought the other and thats how it continued. If we know how to behave and where to draw the line, people will not misbehave" she feels.

When asked about why not many Telugu girls take up acting, Swati feels it is probably because of their misconceptions about the industry. She believes that rumours and intrusion into personal life of the actors by media and fans is a a part of the glamour industry."Most Telugu girls think that Tollywood is a bad place. Many of them have pre conceived notions about the industry. Rumours and breach of personal freedom by people comes with celebrity status. It is all a part of the job. Gossiping about people is omnipresent. Since we are in the film industry, it what ever we do gets noticed easily. I don't let rumours effect me. My family and friends don't talk about them to me and I am lucky enough to be extremely protected"

Swati who aspired to anything but an actress says she doesn't get carried away with her stardom ruin her freedom."I still go around in auto rickshaw, eat my favourite pani puri , biryani and travel by trains. When we expect people to watch our movies, we should also be friendly to them when they approach you with a genuine compliment"

When asked about how she wants to be remembered in Tollywood,"I want to be remembered. Thats all. In Tollywood actors come and go and hence the memory is too short. Even if they remember me after a few years, I consider it an achievement" she says.She dismisses the critics opinion that she does similar 'bubbly' girl roles in all her movies.

" My show Colours was extremely popular and so people still have that 16 year old girl image of mine in their minds. It will take some time for them to get over it. I have done four movies so far and each of them had a different image altogether. I am just a few movies old and as I grow and good scripts come my way, I will do different roles. After doing ' Adavari Matalaku Ardhale Verule' most of them offered 'village girl' roles because it was a success. I didn't want to be identified with one particular image which is why I am choosy and accept scripts that are totally different from my previous project."

Swati deems her family the first priority and says she spends time with her parents and brother despite her hectic schedule."I get to spend lots of time with family,its obviously my first priority. My brother is an engineer turned pilot. My family gives me their feedback. They are are my worse critics and best supporters

"With appreciation pouring in and Swati crafting her career with careful choice of roles, looks like this girl is sure to be ' remembered'.