It was quite shocking; I had to call out AI fakes: Priyanka Mohan

Priyanka Mohan, who made her Tamil debut in Doctor (2021), says that she now has bigger responsibilities and zero time for trolls as she is embracing a new, more confident phase in her career. Excerpts:

‘I WAS A LITTLE SCEPTICAL BECAUSE I HADN’T DONE A FEMALEORIENTED FILM BEFORE’The recent OTT release Made In Korea marked the first time Priyanka headlined a film. “I was a little sceptical initially because I hadn’t done a femaleoriented film before. But once I heard the story, I fell in love with it and couldn’t say no. Also, a major OTT platform was involved,” she says. Talking about the pressure of leading a film, she adds, “Whether you’re part of a film or headlining it, the pressure is always there. Here, I wouldn’t say there was extra pressure, but it did come with a great sense of responsibility.”

Priyanka on confronting AI generated fake imagesPriyanka recently had to confront fake AI-generated images circulating online that falsely claimed to be from her Telugu film, They Call Him OG. “That was quite shocking. It looked so real. People tend to believe what they see, so I had to immediately call it out. I don’t know what people get out of making such vulgar stuff. This happens to a lot of women, and it shouldn’t be happening. We should be living in a safe society. People should spend their time creating something better for the world, not ruining someone’s day,” she says.

‘I WISH TO BE PART OF AMAZING STORIES’Reflecting on her journey, Priyanka says, “At the start of my career, I was confused and didn’t know what to do. I just focused on my part and did as much as I could. Right now, I wish to be part of amazing stories. I’m very passionate, and I love being in front of the camera and the ambience of the set. I just want to wake up every day and go for a shoot. I’m exploring myself day by day as an actor.”

‘DHANUSH SIR SAID, ‘IT’S A MARRIAGETHEMED SONG. YOU’RE GOING TO BE IN A MADISAR’’She recalls being surprised when Dhanush approached her to feature in Golden Sparrow from Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam . “I thought, ‘Why me?’ Because, people have not seen me in a certain way. I was also thinking about how the song would be used in the film. But Dhanush sir said, ‘It’s a marriage-themed song. You’re going to be in a madisar .’ Then, I thought, ‘When he has confidence in me, why should I not have it?’ So, I said ‘Yes’.”

‘IT WAS GREAT TO SEE HOW PEOPLE RECEIVE A PAWAN KALYAN FILM IN THE TELUGU STATES’Priyanka refers to her last theatrical release, Pawan Kalyan’s They Call Him OG , as her biggest yet. “I’m grateful because I haven’t had such a big-scale movie become a big hit like They Call Him OG yet. And that too with a really big hero like Pawan Kalyan sir. It meant so much. I had not experienced such FDFS euphoria before. It was great to see how people receive a Pawan Kalyan film in the Telugu states.”

‘SHIVARAJ SIR IS CURIOUS AND ENTHUSIASTIC. AND THAT’S INFECTIOUS’Her current lineup includes a Tamil film with Kavin and Hemanth M Rao’s Kannada film, 666 Operation Dream Theatre , alongside Shivarajku-mar and Dhananjaya. “I really admire Hemanth. His filmography blew me away, and I’ve always been a big fan. To be part of such an interesting story is in itself huge for me. Every day is a learning process on that set. It’s like a fun school. Shivaraj sir is like a kid, very curious and enthusiastic. And that’s infectious. I’ve already worked with him in Captain Miller and know the kind of person he is. It’s also been great working with Kavin. He is passionate about cinema. Working with him is a reciprocal relationship. You reciprocate well when you have a very good actor in front of you.”

On facing trolling online...Priyanka says she has learnt to detach and move forward despite facing online trolls. “People who troll don’t have any better job. Why should we give trolls our energy and time? Every week, there is something new for people to talk about. People move on and so should we. Even legends face trolling, and I’m just a budding artiste. I’m still learning and growing. I think the public knows that trolls, memes and comments are paid for. You never know what is real and what isn’t. It’s like AI. Nothing affects me for more than a day or two,” she explains.
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