'I'm enjoying the rush'

Actress Priyamani’s life has suddenly switched gears with too many things happening over the last one year. She has gone public in declaring that she and Mumbai-based businessman Mustafa Raj are a couple and that their wedding is slated to take place in the second half of next year. And in addition to all this, she is making waves on the small screen through two popular reality shows — in Malayalam and Kannada — which have lent a new dimension to her career.

She has also signed a couple of projects in Kannada which she says will portray her in a different light. One of them is a film directed by Yogaraj Bhat. “All of Yogaraj sir’s films are scripted in a different way and this one has me playing a typical village girl. It promises to entertain and also enlighten the viewers in some ways,” she says.

Taking one through the storyline, Priyamani says that she plays a girl who wishes to become a police constable and is willing to go to any length to fulfill her ambitions. “There’s drama, sentiment, romance, action and comedy — all wrapped in one with none overpowering the other,” Priyamani explains.

She has been on the panel of judges for the popular dance show in Malayalam called ‘D for Dance’ and same in Kannada titled ‘Dancing Star 2’. “It was a smart move. I had people recognising me when I went to shoot in the small town of Gangavathi (in Karnataka) and I got the same warm response when I recently visited the US,” she elaborates. Though she hops in and out of the City for shooting, she states that she is soaking in every bit of the jet-setting pace. “I am enjoying the rush. There’s so much more that I can do,” she adds. She is also listening to more scripts but yet to take on more.

Things look pretty good for her on the personal front as well. Priyamani confesses that she took her time to choose the right man and says she couldn’t have found a more supportive partner. “Mustafa is open, encouraging and blunt about what he likes and dislikes,” she adds. Asked if she would continue to act after the wedding, she says, “If the industry is open to me after my marriage then, I am willing to act. But it’s too early to debate on that. I would like to take one step at a time,” she says.  The wedding, she says, will be a simple affair. “I think we will go in for a register marriage because both of us are from different communities and we wouldn’t want to hurt the sentiments of the people from both communities,” she adds.