Actress Malashri always chooses subjects that the ordinary people can relate to rather than restricting herself to only entertainment-based projects. Her latest venture ‘Ganga’ features her, for the first time, in the role of an autorickshaw driver. “There are a lot of stories that have traced the life of an autorickshaw driver but this film doesn’t take the usual route. It has taken a different path altogether. Here, the auto driver, is a woman and the story portrays the importance of dignity of labour,” explains Malashri.
Not giving away too much of the script, Malashri says that she was impressed with the storyline. “Doctors and software professionals want their children to follow suit but you will never find an autorickshaw driver who wants his children to become auto drivers. He or she works really hard, to provide them with good education, so that they land up in respectable jobs,” she reasons.
She states that the movie has been shot in real locations. “We shot the climax fight scenes in a timber factory and Ramu (the producer) has chosen every location after a lot of thought and care has been taken not to add too many fictional elements lest it takes away the importance of the content,” she adds. Talking about why she accepted the project, Malashri observes, “A lot of people go to the movies and end up talking more about the popcorn and how salty or spicy it was rather than the movie itself. I am sure this movie will not only get people talking about it but thinking about it as well,” she adds
Malashri states that she is truly delighted with her performance. “After shooting a couple of scenes, I got very involved with the character and the role.
The involvement and my eagerness to see a change is evident in the movie and in my character too. A lot of the changes that I want to see around me have been incorporated in the movie,” she states.
The movie, she states, has all the makings of a commercial entertainer but it has been shot in an unconventional style. The project doesn’t intend to send out any message of sorts but there’s something for every woman to take home, observes Malashri. “Every woman is capable of shouldering the responsibility of running the family. It’s not only the men who must earn, even women must equally find respectable and dignified jobs to not only fend for themselves but for their family as well.”
Malashri points out that a lot of people will relate to the film. There are a couple of fight scenes as well. “There were times when I felt like a real autorickshaw driver. I must say doing this role was much better than doing an item song. That’s the kind of rush I felt while I was shooting for the movie,” she signs off.