We used to shoot during laugh breaks

Any conversation with Samyukta Hornad is peppered with a generous dose of laughter. The actress, artist and animal activist is high on energy as she talks about her role and experiences while shooting Hemanth Hegde's Sa, which also stars Vijay Suriya and J Karthik (JK). Excerpts from an interview'
What is your role in the movie?
I play Vijay's wife. We are a newly-married couple, who are very well off.My character is a weak woman, who is prone to illness, so she is dependent on her husband, as she needs to be looked after. I can't give away too much about the role, and all I can say is that my character is very loving and caring... but is she really that?
We heard that there was an incident with a horse'
We learnt how to ride at the turf club before we started shooting. JK and Vijay would usually be engrossed in a conversation. Once, I fell off the horse, and was yelling for help, but both of them paid no attention. I fell off the horse again when Vijay was talking to a jockey. Needless to say, I was scared and was worried about shooting the scene in Sakleshpur since there wouldn't be as many people there as there were at the turf club. During one scene in Sakleshpur, my horse was supposed to start running around like a maniac and JK was supposed to save me on his horse, but instead, the horse that I was on started attacking JK's horse; he kicked JK, who suffered a ligament tear. They say that horses can sense fear, which is why they probably weren't normal around me. Also, they need to be spoken to ' they liked me only after I started doing that.
Although I was initially afraid of them, I love horses now and have become a horse whisperer of sorts.
This is your first thriller film. What was the experience like?
I have played a possessed person in a play and a maniac as well, and that is something that I really enjoy. So, I had fun.
You are friends with Vijay and JK in real life. What was it like shooting with them?
They never let me shoot even one scene completely. They used to have something called a 'Samyukta break', which was basically them imitating me. Whenever it was time to can my scenes, Vijay and JK used to stand behind the camera and imitate my expressions. And they wouldn't move; they are both so huge that I couldn't even make them move. In the middle of the shoot, they used to yell out 'Samyukta break', and everyone would start imitating me. This was standard practice and everyone on the set was in on it. Even when I had to shoot at 2 am, they would make sure that they were on the set just to bully me. But it was a lot of fun and we were laughing more than shooting. In fact, we used to shoot in between our laugh breaks.
What else has been keeping you busy?
I am working on another movie, Dayavittu Gamanisi, and apart from that, my doodle artworks are going to be displayed at a city caf' in a couple of weeks. There is also a cause with animals that I am involved in, which I will talk about it when the time is right. Although I was initially afraid of them, I love horses now and have become a horse whisperer of sorts.
This is your first thriller film. What was the experience like?
I have played a possessed person in a play and a maniac as well, and that is something that I really enjoy. So, I had fun.
You are friends with Vijay and JK in real life. What was it like shooting with them?
They never let me shoot even one scene completely. They used to have something called a 'Samyukta break', which was basically them imitating me. Whenever it was time to can my scenes, Vijay and JK used to stand behind the camera and imitate my expressions. And they wouldn't move; they are both so huge that I couldn't even make them move. In the middle of the shoot, they used to yell 'Samyukta break', and everyone would start imitating me. This was standard practice and everyone on the set was in on it. Even when I had to shoot at 2 am, they would make sure that they were on the set just to bully me. But it was a lot of fun and we were laughing more than shooting. In fact, we used to shoot in between our laugh breaks.
What else has been keeping you busy?
I am working on another movie, Dayavittu Gamanisi, and apart from that, my doodle artworks are going to be displayed at a city caf' in a couple of weeks. There is also a cause with animals that I am involved in, which I will talk about when the time is right.