'Playing twins for the first time got me excited'

'The two characters I play symbolise two important aspects of life -- Sneha (friendship) and Preethi (love) -- that form the foundation of life for us all.'

Meghana Raj gets ready for Raja Huli's release.

Flushed with the success of her last Kannada film Raja Huli, actress Meghana Raj is back on home turf after a short gap.

Her latest Kannada starrer is Bahuparak, which releases on July 25 across Karnataka.

For the first time she plays a dual role -- of twins.

Meghana, 24, has inherited her acting genes from her parents Sundar Raj and Pramila Joshai.

She hopes Bahuparak will showcase her acting talent. The Bangalore-born actress is mostly seen in performance-oriented roles in Malayalam films.

In this interview with Srikanth Srinivasa, Meghana talks about what it took her to play twins and her exploits in the movie.

What led to the success of your last Kannada film Raja Huli?

It had a simple screenplay. There were light moments in the film that upheld the quality of the film.

Audiences wanted some comic relief and the film had all the elements of a commercial entertainer.

The film was made in such a way that it didn’t seem like a remake; it looked very natural and it connected with the audience.

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What attracted you to Bahuparak?

I was eager to do this film from the word go. Ever since director Suni narrated the script to me, I was excited about how it would be made and how I would be portrayed.

Playing twins for the first time got me excited. I have a personal connect with the film.

We never felt that we were doing a job; it was like a good journey and I made friends for life.

How challenging was the dual role?

The only thing identical about the twins that I play is that they look alike. Everything else about these twins is not identical.

The two characters symbolise two important aspects of life -- Sneha (friendship) and Preethi (love) -- that form the foundation of life for us all.

The most challenging part was to establish a link between the twins from one scene to the other. I had to transition between the two characters in a jiffy, not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally.

There were fears of being too dramatic. I had to be myself while doing both the characters within a few minutes.

I was in conflict with myself and had to energise myself to do justice to both the characters. The transition was difficult as the dialogues were also symbolic. 

Will audiences be able to identify which twin is which?

The challenge for me is to show the audience the difference between the two characters.

Audiences will definitely notice a difference. The way Preethi dresses and behaves is different from how Sneha dresses. That they are poles apart will make it easier for audiences to identify them.

Their attitudes differ. They are more like friends than sisters, as they haven’t grown up together so the emotional connect is missing.

Their mannerisms and body language are also different. Audience should be able to differentiate between the two. If they are able to do that, my job is done.

Preethi is very much like me but I didn’t know Sneha was there in me.

You are seen holding a cigarette in the poster. Do you really smoke in the movie or is it just a style statement?

I cannot reveal what I do with the cigarette in the film.

All that I can say is it is a film for the family and the character that I play is totally justified... it goes well with the narrative.  

You are also shown riding a bike in the movie. Was that difficult?

I enjoyed riding a bike.

I had a picture of me on my friend’s bike on my social networking site. Director Suni saw it and asked me if I knew how to ride a bike. The bike was heavy and quite difficult to even move.

Suni told me to learn how to ride a bike. Nobody was willing to lend their bike or teach me to ride.

Bike riding is very addictive and nobody wants to part with their bike for someone else. When Suni threw a challenge at me to shoot the sequence on the spot, I went for it.

Now I can change gears with ease and am pretty confident of riding a bike.

You sing in the movie for the first time…

I have sung for the title track of the movie. It is a peppy and colourful number with all the tech lingo.

Suni had heard me sing a Ganesha stotra (hymn) for a television channel. He told me to sing a song and since I love singing, I thought I will give it a shot.

Singing was a liberating experience for me. Music director Bharath was very supportive and he encouraged me to be natural.

I am not a trained singer but I used to sing for my father’s theatre troupe and that’s where I learnt the ropes of pitch and rhythm.

What was it like working with Suni? Can we expect a lot of dialogue, which was the USP of his first film, Simple Agi Ondh Love Story?

It was a wonderful experience. He is a bundle of talent. He draws the best out of everyone.

The dialogues are comical and play an important role. But, this film is nowhere close to what his first film was in terms of dialogue. There is a lot of emotional content as well.

What was it like acting with your real-life parents in the movie?

Acting with my parents was nerve-wracking. If they watch me act on the sets I feel nervous and blocked.

There was an emotional scene and I had to mouth some dialogue in front of them. I had the personal connect with them and I wondered how I could say such a thing.

I couldn’t sleep the previous night thinking about it. But they gave me my space. They were very cool.

My father came up to me and appreciated my performance and that is like getting a Filmfare award for me!