Does a mother distinguish between her 2 children - Sameera Reddy

Sameera Reddy is all set to prove herself as a versatile actress after recent glamorous roles in Race and One Two Three. She is again returning to the serious image with Star Entertainments Red Alert the War Within. Her first brush with alternate cinema was Kaalpurush with renowned Bengali film director Buddhadeb Dasgupta.

Q. What is Red Alert all about?
A. It's a very serious film which talks about the Naxalite problem. We don't try to blame either the government or the militants. Rather, we hope to find a solution to this major internal security issue.

Q. Were you aware of this problem before hand?
A. No, we people living in metros have no idea about the seriousness of this issue. Even I was equally clueless about this matter. We would read in the papers that there is some violence, but never really bothered to find out more. Red Alert wants the whole country to get up and face this growing menace.

Q. Something about your character…
A. I play Laxmi, a young girl, who goes to the police station and there the cops, instead of helping her, rape her. This trauma completely shatters her faith in the system. We aim to show that people who take up arms against the state sometime have no other option. They are in such a state of mind that when anybody gives them a gun and says kill, they
just do it. But later on my character does realize the wrongness of her ways, but by then it’s too late.

Q. Does this mean you are just justifying violence?
A. No amount of provocation can just be violence. It’s just that we need to understand why they are doing it.

Q. You seem to be happy doing serious cinema.
A. Yes, Buddha Babu has opened a brand new door for me. Even in this movie, I will be totally glamorous, dressed like a man. This hard hitting film does not warrant any other element. The best part of the new actress in me is that I tried to think a lot as my dumb character in Race as well. Most other actresses would not have done that.

Q. What would the USP of Red Alert be?
A. We not only have well written characters but equally good actors like Suneil Shetty, Nassurdin Shah and Vinod Khanna. Many times a good film fails due to absence of good actors to enact them.

Q. But you will continue to do glam roles?
A. Yes, why not!

Q. But which do you prefer?
A. Does a mother distinguish between her 2 children?

Q. Which yesteryear actress do you take inspiration from?
A. I really look up to Smita Patil. She never did much glamorous roles but yet I saw the oomph element in her. Even Sridevi played both serious and commercial roles quite well.

Q. After Kalpurush, what is next in regional cinema?
A. Yes, this national award winning film has finally released. Now I am doing one more Bong film titled Voyeur. It shows how much the camera has invaded our lives, not only of the celebs but targeting lay people as well. We need to work out a line between public and private life. I am also doing a Tamil film. My next Hindi project would be an animation film Mahayodha Ram. But among all these, Red Alert will be the first to be released.

-Anil Merani

-(SAMPURN)