She was a teenage heartthrob and a dream woman for many cine-goers during her heydays. She was perhaps the most successful South Indian actress of the 1970s and 80s. From playing the romantic lead in the Malayalam film Chattakari (1974), remade into Hindi as Julie, she became a sensational star to be rechristened after this film in Kannada cinema.
Julie Lakshmi has staged a comeback to acting after a long break after hosting two reality shows on television, Achmillai Achmillai being the most recent one in Tamil. She has completed work in Saiprakash’s latest Kannada film Hettare Hennane Herabeku.
In an interview with Metrolife Lakshmi talks about herself without getting nostalgic about her career as an actress. How was it to host two reality shows on television for such a long time? I underwent a lot of stress hosting two shows on TV because it’s a live show and had everything to do with human lives. I had to be aware of what’s happening in society.
I think I have matured a lot as a person after hosting these shows because we as actors are always pampered. It’s opened up new doors and has come as an eye-opener. What do you attribute your success to as an actress all over South? Why didn’t you accept more Hindi films after Julie?
Whatever I am today is because of all my yesterday’s heroes, directors and the films.
I am one of the very few to have acted as heroine in all four South Indian languages. I was the first South Indian actress to get a national award for the film Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal. It was just not possible for me to kick up everything here to accept more Hindi films. How did you manage to converse so well in all the four South Indian languages? I accepted challenges in the form of learning new languages. I made an effort to learn all languages. It becomes so easy for an artiste to think in that language while facing the camera, once you learn the language. I gained that fluency in all the South Indian languages. Kannada is so similar to Telugu. I took it up as a challenge when directors Dorai-Bhagwan told me to learn the language during the making of the Kannada film Gaali Maathu. I was able to read a short letter to the director before the film ended. Tell us about your role in the Kannada film Hettare… The film is about how relationships are more important than money. It is also about companionship. You should see the film to know more.
