Interview | Shraddha Srinath on Irugapatru, her shuffling languages and Bengaluru life

In her latest work in theatres, the Tamil film Irugapatru, directed by Yuvaraj Dhayalan, Shraddha plays Mitra, a marriage counsellor whose professional and personal life converge at some point. Through the film, you only see Mitra’s smile – a full smile, a half-smile, a flicker of a smile… and when you understand why, you deeply empathise with Mitra, who can initially come off as overbearing.

Over the years, Shraddha has built a body of work across industries – primarily Tamil and Telugu, but also Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi, playing roles of substance that call for a certain gravitas. Remember Vikram Vedha, Jersey, Krishna and His Leela and Nerkonda Paarvai, where she brought alive the role originally made popular by Taapsee Pannu in Pink?

She’s also developed an organic fan following along the way.

Excerpts from an interview:

Let’s begin with Mitra. She’s not an easy person to understand. She’s all sunlight, but you realise there are shadows lurking. Also, she initially comes across as the more domineering one. How did you prepare to play her?

Can I be honest? We finished the film a year ago and when I watched it during the premiere, I found myself getting annoyed with her. I kept asking myself why she was so controlling and then had to remind myself that, hey, there’s more to come. But, I was happy that if she had this impact on the person who played her, then, possibly, the audience will warm themselves to her too, and she will be a pleasant surprise.

That said, there was no reference as such for Mitra’s character, and so I created a backstory for her in my head. She probably comes from a home where her parents were unhappy and lived together because there was a child. She probably comes from a home where she was not allowed to express herself. And so, possibly Mitra always wants to find a solution. She probably chose this career because she had parents who needed help and did not get it. They were very loud and confrontational, and she decided she would do none of that. This is how I modelled her.

I wanted the audience to feel that she’s teaching her husband everything she knows and about marriage. And that, maybe, she has a reason to do it. I wanted people to not dismiss her as being unreasonable and wait to find out why she’s doing what she’s doing.

Mitra comes across as a dream counsellor, who does not judge…

Even now, mental health and therapy is not spoken about as much as it should be, and there are presumptions about how counsellors behave. I wanted her to be really pleasant and approachable, and look like she’s in control. She says even the toughest things with a smile.

I’ve been to some counsellors and Mitra's probably the kind of person I may want to chat with.

Many tell me Mitra’s body language was precise too. She initially comes off as very rehearsed and then becomes more fluid. I did not particularly work on this, but I guess she was written this way, where she’s exerted too much pressure on herself before she becomes her own person and loosens up.

The film has very few dramatic moments — it gently flows without too many highs or lows. What about it told you to sign up?

When he gave me a narration, Yuvaraj told me that this is a verbose film and that my character has close to 40 per cent of the dialogues. She won’t lecture, but converse, and those sitting on the opposite side are active participants in the process. That interested me. He has written the film so sensitively and it all seemed very well-rounded. Plus Potential Studios was backing it, and I know what they’ve backed earlier. Think Aruvi, for example. I thought Yuvaraj had the confidence that this script would work and that he could deliver what was needed. We did some readings and went for the shoot, and it all worked out well.

Did it help that Mitra also broke the pattern of the kind of roles being offered to you?

Oh yes, for some reason they’ve been typecasting me as an older woman or a mother, and it felt great to play someone closer to my age, wearing the clothes I would wear. I like being part of a couple who is newly married and does not have children yet. I’ve not worked with Vikram Prabhu before and it was nice to be part of a fresh on-screen pairing.

Let’s speak about your career trajectory. When we spoke some years ago, you were certain you wanted to work across industries and believed in pushing aside the language barrier. How has that played out in this OTT world?

I think I can fit into any industry where I have anything substantial to contribute. I know I definitely cannot do a certain type of cinema, because I did try that genre in my initial days and was not very satisfied as a performer. So, there are five or six of us actors in the south who choose a kind of cinema that does not get made often. Every language probably makes four-five of these movies a year. When we work across languages, you get the opportunity to choose from a larger number of such films.

Also, each industry knows you differently. For instance, in Hindi, where I have Letters to Mr Khanna, they know me as someone who’s young, fun and chirpy. When they saw the first look of Saindhav, a Telugu film I’m part of, they were surprised to see me in a sari, because they don’t know that side of me.

Which is why working across industries is an advantage, because they are not coloured by images of me in films I’ve already done, however memorable they might have been. They are able to envision me differently. I am not seen as just a mother (Jersey) or a wife (Vikram Vedha). This is also why I grabbed Irugapatru with both hands because Mitra was refreshing.

One of the peculiar issues niche films face is also that they need a solid team to take it to the winning line, which is a proper release.

True. So while you are tempted by some fabulous scripts, you also need to pick a solid team that will back the script. You need someone with the experience to take the film to its intended audience. Writing a film and making a film is different from marketing it. And you need the last part of the puzzle to fit in well, for the film to work.

Is that also why you don’t sign up for too many films?

Ha, I wish I had three to four releases a year, and I wish I’m busy through the year, but we make the best of what we get.

It’s a privilege to have fans who wait for your films, and watch them on the big screen. I know the love I feel for certain actors and how I go to watch them, and it is humbling to know you are that actor for some people.

Amid this rigmarole, how does Shraddha stay in touch with her inner person?

The industry is lovely, but there’s a lot of background noise and sometimes you need to decompress and go back to who you once were. I am still my parents’ daughter, younger sibling to my sister and aunt to my niece.

I still go out shopping with my mother in Jayanagar in Bangalore. I’m still not so famous that I can’t live a regular life. I still go to the bakery my mother took me to as a little child and eat puffs there. Those trips nourish me. They remind me I am still the same person.