June 05, 2012 Y. Sunitha Chowdhary
She is more known to the television audiences as Priyanka of Antarangalu and as one of Chiranjeevi's sister in Hitler. Meena Kumari, has now completed ten years in the television and film industry and on the occasion laments that she could have done more films and far better roles in movies but got stuck in television serials that dragged over two and three years.
She observes, "I would allot bulk dates for television serials and would reject all offers from Telugu films citing date problems. The producers too in the process were resigned to the fact that this actor is always busy in some language or the other and somewhere stopped approaching me. If I had any time I would do Malayalam movies or do Tamil and Telugu serials."
The actor who is proficient in all South languages thinks there is a great deal of satisfaction in her work and that satisfaction becomes manifold when the serial becomes a big hit and people talk about it. Her only regret is that she couldn't grab the good offers in Telugu and she is capable of doing lot better than what she is being offered now. In Manoj's and Balakrishna's movie Oo Kodathara Ulikki Padathara she's playing Tamil actor Prabhu's wife.
She adds, "I told them I am not doing that type of characters but they insisted on me listening to the story and said it would be good. After I reached the set they concured and remarked that I'm too young for that role but since I've already committed I remained silent."
The pretty and talented actor recollects her golden days on the small tube, "I was done with my tenth standard when I started doing Antarangalu. I got to do Hitler too around the same time. My role in the serial was that of an arrogant woman Priyanka married to Achyuth. Every time I would go out people would ask me why I was harrassing Sarath Babu who played my servant turned guardian. I would still treat him as a servant and people wouldn't like it, they would wait for 8PM every week to see what would happen next.
It was a learning experience those days as I would be on the sets every morning with curiosity and an eagerness to learn and know things. Achyuth and myself worked in Anubandham too but as siblings, those days NTR and Savitri were a hit as brother and sister in Raktha Sambandham, I won a Nandi for that role. Achyuth's death was unexpected, we were spechless and it took us a long time to recover."
Meena did some inconspicuous work in Jayam Manadera, Kalisundham Raa, etc., and did shuttle between three States, she now has found time to pursue a degree in law and that leaves her no time for anything.
"By the time I reach home after my television work it's 8 or 8:30PM. I do switch on the televsion to see if I'm there in that episode otherwise I crash, otherwise I don't have time to even think. Life has been very hectic these ten years."
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