'I was never happy doing an item song'

Sandalwood actress Roopa Shree says that she’s always ready to face challenges. The tougher the role, the easier it is for her to work on it. She did exceptionally well in her last film ‘Chaddi Dost’ where she played a don to be precise.

She had a lot of offers coming her way, including item numbers but Roopa Shree wasn’t happy with the offers until recently where she plays the character of Beki Latha in ‘Adyaksha.’

She confesses that it is the freshness of the script that impressed her, “I was never happy doing an item song. Even my mother didn’t want me to go for it. But, this song can’t really be termed as an item number for it traces the life of a dancer called Beki Latha who was once popular for performances at ‘jathres.’ She was known for her erotic dance moves and it is said that she had extremely seductive eyes,” explains Roopa Shree. 
 
Roopa Shree was excited about the song the moment she was briefed about the concept, “It’s not a typical item song, this one is more of a jugalbandi where actor Sharan and Ravishankar join me half way through the song.

It’s a neat song where I open the song saying, “Hello mic testing123” and make a grand entry,” explains Roopa Shree. The song she notes is a mix of old and new Kannada songs. “The song has popular numbers from late Dr Rajkumar and Shankar Nag’s movies and a few from the latest Darshan movie as well,” she adds.

Roopa Shree had to mentally prepare herself for the song, “I was told that Beki Latha was known for a sexy dance moves and flirty eyes. And I was asked to replicate the same. Although, it was a little tough, I managed to don that flirty image,” she recalls.

Roopa Shree plays a poignant role in her other project ‘Cigarette’. The actor says that it is a very realistic character, which begins on a sober note and becomes intense towards the climax. “It’s the story of how a simple girl turns insane because the man she loves falls prey to a certain disease. She takes to smoking to overcome the trauma but this takes a toll on her psychological well-being. I have worked with people suffering from psychological problems while pursuing my Master’s degree and I know the pain they undergo,” she concludes.