'I have emerged strong'

There has been a lot of speculation about the title of Ragini Dwivedi’s next film ‘Naane Next CM’. The title has aroused a lot of curiosity among movie buffs about whether it actually means that Ragini will play the role of a chief minister in the film.

Ragini is not the one who would be party to triggering a controversy. “It’s a straight and plain title but ‘CM’ can either mean Chief Minister or it could mean a ‘common man’. More than pegging a film around politics and the ‘masala’ that revolves around it, we’ve decided to leave the interpretation to the viewers,” she explains.

She shares that the latest venture has picked on issues that the common man can relate to. “I say and do a lot more crazy things in this film than I’ve done in ‘Ranachandi’. In fact, I was injured in one of the fight sequences in ‘Nanne...’ Luckily, I just missed a head injury. There was a lot of speculation about me losing out on projects and staying away from the film industry for a long time because of the injury. But I am glad I have emerged strong and signed a lot of projects,” she says.

The film doesn’t attempt to target any particular person or group, says Ragini. But it does well to get people thinking on a variety of issues and sends out a strong message that the common man has just as much power as the Chief Minister of a state. “There are a lot of things that ordinary people can change around them only if they move forward and do things that can make that difference for the larger good. This is better than indulging in a plain blame game. This is the crux of the film,” she adds. 
  
While Ragini is awaiting the release of ‘Ranachandi’, she has also signed to play the lead role in her next film, ‘Huli Devara Kaadu’, which is a psychological thriller. “This is the first time that I am ready to play such a role and I can’t wait to start working on the project. Although, it seems like an emotionally draining role, I am totally up for the challenge,” she states.

Ragini is always working on atleast one or two projects in the Kannada, Tamil and Telugu industries, almost simultaneously. Her strength, she says, is that she can easily adapt to any situation and is willing to experiment with characters.

She also states that she will soon appear in a lot of bilingual projects as well. “Bilingual projects not only give you a lot of visibility but serve as an excellent learning ground. There are a lot of Tamil directors who have approached me to work on solo projects and I’ve agreed to work on a few. Also I am contemplating accepting a few more,” says Ragini, who has just returned from a trip to some religious places.