I will continue to do films for as long as I live

It’s been barely a couple of months since Meghana Raj married the love of her life, Chiranjeevi Sarja. Despite her multiple professional commitments, Meghana was hoping for some peace and quiet, and time to connect with near-and-dear ones. Instead, she has been spending much of her time promoting her upcoming films, while completing work on others and having script discussions for new work.One of her forthcoming releases is the Mussanje Mahesh directed MMCH — a film that she began working for shortly after getting engaged. We caught up with the actress during one of her visits to her folks house, which she is glad is just a few minutes drive from her new home with Chiru.
How is life?
It’s very good; it’s much busier than I expected. I thought that I would have a little more free time to be around family, but my schedule is the exact opposite of that. It has actually become a lot more hectic than before. I don’t think that I have well and truly settled into my new role as Chiru’s wife. In fact, for my in-laws, it has still not sunk in that I am married to him and live there now. Immediately after we got married, Chiru got busy with Amma I Love You promotions and I had a few days of shoot pending, so we never really had time to sit down and let it sink in that we are husband and wife, and have our own space now. Honestly, it still feels like I am in a relationship with him and not yet married.
MMCH is your first release since you got married. At an event for the film, you did mention that it is a special film on many levels...
MMCH is a film that I have been a part of since its nascent stages. Mahesh sir came to me with the subject about a year ago. I liked it a lot and was looking to produce it as well. But then, certain other things came up and I couldn’t venture into production. But Mahesh sir was so keen on making the film that he looked for alternate means, while also making sure that I would be a part of the cast. That is when I okayed the character of Megha.
This is also a film with not one, but three other heroines...
When the idea of MMCH came up, my mother (Pramila Joshai) suggested that it would be a good idea to cast daughters of veteran actresses because it hadn’t been done before in Kannada cinema and would be different for the film. As far as I am concerned, I had no issue sharing screen space with three other girls. I knew the script and what the film is about. Also, the thing about Mahesh sir is that he will not say something and shoot something else. Even when I worked on Jinda with him, I was given a bound script. I did not have to think twice about working with him again, and I never wondered what I would be doing in such an ensemble cast. I was the first one onboard and there was absolutely no rivalry between us. Prathama (Prasad) and I are childhood friends, while Samyukta (Hornad) was my junior in college. I got to meet Deepthi (Nakshatra) on the set. All of us got along like a house on fire and since Deepthi was the quiet one,we often playfully bullied her. The four of us never had any problems with each other, either during shooting or now during promotions. We were clear a about how each of us would be in the film and that sealed the deal.
Tell us a little about working on this film...
It was a lot of fun, as the atmosphere on this set was very different. Usually, when you are on set, you have a male co-star and you talk to each other for a few minutes, after which you either start looking at your phone or go over your lines for the next shot. In this film, since there was the four of us, all we wanted to do was have fun. From the beginning we knew what we were there for, so we had no time to see if anyone’s costume or makeup was better than the other, etc. The only thing on our mind was to finish our shoot, jam up and have a good time. As part of the story, the four of us also got to do a fair bit of action and it was good fun punching and kicking men. This was right after I got engaged and I used to joke that right after I became a part of the Action King family, I became Action Queen. Those scenes really gave us an idea of how difficult it must be for heroes to kick and punch, and not hurt the other person. When we were rehearsing, we actually ended up hurting the guys. Getting the body language right was really difficult.
What are your fondest memories of MMCH?
I have got three very good friends — they are people I can call up in times of need and I know that they will be there for me. That apart, we thoroughly enjoyed being these four powerful people of the film.
What else is keeping you busy?
After MMCH, there is Iruvudellava Bittu, which is also a very special film for me. My other film is one of the biggest in Sandalwood —Kurukshetra — which is also my first with Darshan sir. That is more than enough for me. The scale of the film, not only in terms of money, but also making, is new for everyone who is a part of it. Technically, Kurukshetra is a one-of-a-kind film.
But these are all films that you committed to before you got married. What is the status of your career now? Will there be a change in the kind of films that you are looking to do?
There is absolutely no change in my lifestyle — be it personal or professional — or the kind of films that I want to be a part of. I will continue to do films and probably even more than earlier. My household is filled with filmi people and we live and breathe cinema. Thankfully, I am now part of a family that expects me to work. In fact, Chiru does not want me to sit at home and has been asking when I am signing my next film. The love for cinema is above everything else for us. I think I will do films for as long as I live.