a change in image

Roja who was till now branded as oomph girl, has managed to successfully create an image of a performer with the latest hit 'Onn edathil ennay koduthaen' in Tamil. This Diwali she had two releases opposite Vijaykanth and Parthiban. She speaks about her career in a brief tete a tete:

Q: With the success of 'Onn edathil.. will you be rejecting glamour roles?

A: Of course not. If you stick to doing roles that are performance oriented, then you will get sidelined. Take Madhuri or Sridevi, they can perform glamour as well as character. In my films I combine both. I am thankful that Vikraman found me fit to do non glamourous role.

Q: You seem to be concentrating on Tamil more than on Telegu now?

A: The reason why I committed to more Telegu films was because I was happy doing films in my mother tongue and that took me away from Tamil. Later on I realised that many good roles I rejected could have given me the scope to emote and so I decided to do more Tamil films. It has paid off because Vikraman sir's film has been a big break for me. It actually started with 'Kadavul' where I did a non glamourous role and now I have a lot of films which give me satisfaction.

Q: Recently you said in a TV interview that you are looking for a suitable man to marry. What happened to your relationship with director Selvamani?

A: (laughs) Nothing at all. I just said it out of fun. The reason is that the viewer wants his heroine to be either his wife or his girlfriend in his dreams and for change I just said this to tickle the public. The reason I am not getting married immediately is my family comes first. I have to see that all my family members are settled first. Now I have opened a department store for my brother in Hyderabad and set up a real estate business. Likewise my parents and sisters have to be given sizable income to live on even after my marriage because after marriage I don't want to work and feed my folk.

Q: You seem to be working in two heroine subjects in Tamil?

A: As long as my role is okay then I don't see any harm in it. The story should justify the necessity of two heroines. Like in 'Pudhumaipithan' I play the role of a prostitute. Some papers had projected that for money I will play any character. Its not so. In the film the girl is a prostitute who gets reformed by 'Pudhumaipithan'. There are no scenes that are vulgar. It's a positive character. The film has three heroines and the story justifies it.

Q: Why are you not working in Selvamani's film?

A: We mutually decided that its better we don't work together because Selvamani will be thinking about how best to build up my role and leave out the other aspects. I had told him so earlier but only now he has realised it. It's better for us this way.

Q: You were quite cutup with the press for the reports that came about you being afflicted with AIDS.

A: Its no joke to say that I have contracted AIDS because it can happen only if you sleep with a man who has got it. I have never slept with any hero or anyone in the filmdom to get roles or money. In such a situation it is quite terrible to be rumoured that I have got AIDS. Then another report says that I attempted to commit suicide. One does not think of the repercussions of such news. Anyway one can't stop all this.

Source: Indiatalkies

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