Currently Expanding Her Vistas On Multiple Digital Platforms, Actor And Talk Show Host Lakshmi Manchu Takes Stock Of Her Multi-Faceted Journey And Going Against Patriarchal Conventions
Actor, producer and speak present host Lakshmi Manchu launched her YouTube channel on Sunday, by means of which she intends to discover subjects she hasn’t coated on different mediums, tv or cinema. She can also be internet hosting the culinary present Aha Bhojanambu for the Telugu streaming platform Aha: “I am comfortable wearing specific hats for each platform,” she says, speaking about her multifaceted journey.
In the introduction video to her YouTube channel, she invitations viewers to share concepts for content material. Responding to feedback requesting house tour movies, she shrugs, “I don’t know why so many people want house tours.” She plans to maintain the primary few episodes private, providing insights into her house and her profession, earlier than she dives into different subjects.
Pandemic conversations
- Lakshmi has hosted periods reminiscent of ‘Coming back to life with Lakshmi Manchu’ for South Bay and the ‘Unlocking Positive Childhood Experiences’ sequence on Instagram throughout the pandemic. The first interactive session was on Janata Curfew in March 2020, when she initiated a day-long reside Instagram periods, roping in her colleagues from the movie business: “I came up with the idea the previous evening and called Rana [Daggubati] and Navdeep. Since Navdeep is good with technology, he set things up. A lot of people don’t know that we did a lot of work as a trio, even during Hyderabad floods.”
- She says the pandemic made her re-assess her life-style: “I felt guilty to have three meals. We were doing our bit to help those in need. Added to that I followed intermittent fasting.” The urge to buy additionally took a backseat. Recently when she travelled to the United States, she observed a change in her shopping for sample: “Earlier I used to shop like I was possessed. This time I was okay not going on a buying spree.”
Food is private
Meanwhile, season one in every of Aha Bhojanambu is underway, with a brand new episode streaming each Friday. The first two episodes featured actor-director Vishwak Sen and actor Rakul Preet Singh. The straightforward, enjoyable banter is the spotlight of the present that tries to unravel the lesser recognized aspect of a star: “The show isn’t about just sharing recipes, but finding the guest’s connection with food. Food is always personal.” At house, she likes to deal with pals to good meals: “I can make dosas simultaneously on two pans at home.”
The first time she was a number was in 2008, for the Lakshmi Talk Show on tv. Prematho Mee Lakshmi and Memusaitham are among the many different reveals she has hosted since then.
She has tweaked her method for OTT and reckons that she could be herself within the digital house: “On television if I said something [politically incorrect], I would be requested to re-word it. Here people can see that I have a potty mouth and I don’t bother to be correct all the time.”
The confidence to be herself additionally stems from having proved herself through the years: “People used to ask why I bother to act or produce when I have a legendary father [actor-producer Mohan Babu]. My naysayers advised me to stay home. A decade later they tell me that I inspire women to be strong and that I have made my father proud.”
Not certain by patriarchal norms
Has success modified the way in which she is perceived? “It has, but I don’t measure success in terms of money. That will come. I don’t earn ₹20 crore for a film, but I live my life to the fullest. For me, success is about waking up each day with excitement about what I am doing as an artiste. We live in a patriarchal society where women are judged by when they get married, how many children they have and when they have. I am married and have a daughter, yes, but I live life on my terms.”
Where are the scripts?
In February 2021, Lakshmi was one of many speaking factors when she essayed Swarnakka, a shrewd Telangana politician, in director Tharun Bhascker’s Ramula story for the Netflix Telugu anthology Pitta Kathalu: “I still get asked why I portrayed what is perceived to be a negative character. I didn’t look at it that way. Swarna was upfront about her intentions from the beginning.”
She remembers when Tharun narrated the story to her: “He was nervous. When he finished narrating, I asked when do we begin work; he asked ‘madam, nachinda (did you like the character?). If I cannot put myself into a story and character that a brilliant director has for me, then what’s the point?”
Post Pitta Kathalu, Lakshmi was assured of getting attention-grabbing characters that she might take up for cinema and the digital house. However, she admits that effectively written characters for girls are laborious to come back by: “I hate to sound elitist, but I am desperate for good scripts. I need to feel motivated to take up a project.”
On the work entrance, unpredictability has change into the norm. There are “good days” when she will get work executed on set, there are “bad days” when shoots get cancelled if somebody on set exams constructive for COVID-19: “We all adapt. The sooner we understand that we may not have the pre-pandemic freedom to do things the way we wanted to, life will get easier.”
