'Hidimbha' is heading to theatres this July 20. Starring Ashwin Babu as the male lead, the film has Nandita Swetha of 'Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada' as an investigator.
The Aneel Kanneganti directorial is shouldered by cinematographer Rajasekar B. The thriller boasts music by Vikas Badisa. With fights by Joshuva and Real Satish, the film also features Srinivasa Reddy, Sahithi Avancha, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Sanjay Swaroop, and others.
In this interview, Nandita says that the thriller is cut from a different cloth. "I have a strong female character here," she says.
I am playing a cop in the film. This is the second time I have played a cop. The first time, it made me somewhat shy on the first day. This time, I was comfortable in the uniform.
The story is about my character trying to trace sixteen missing girls. My character is as important as that of the male lead. I am a jovial person by nature in real life. But you will see me in a serious role in 'Hidimbha'. I am the male lead's senior and am always bossy in my behaviour. It was a unique experience playing such a part.
I had to work out hard and shed some weight because a previous film required me to be a bit chubby. What made it all the more challenging is the fact that I have got a muscle disorder named Fibromyalgia. It has been there for the past 3.5 years. The disorder makes it unviable to practice diet and do heavy workouts. It's not an auto-immune disorder, though. It gets aggravated because of irregular sleeping schedules and dieting.
'Hidimbha' is an edge-of-the-seat thriller that will surely make the audience come to theatres. My character is realistic. She is not capable of gravity-defying action. The make-up is subtle. She is not over-glamourized. I did whatever was required for the character. I got to work with a professional team.
The kissing scene that you saw in the trailer was required. I usually stay away from intimate scenes. This script made it essential for me to do such a scene... The scene is a welcome romantic break in an out-and-out serious movie like this.
Ashwin Babu is a hard-working person. He is a cop in the film. And he looks the part. We have a lot of combination scenes.
Stardom is not something you plan. I have done small films, concept films, performance-oriented films, and experimental films more than commercial films. Stardom doesn't come to you just because you desire it. Hit or flop, I have always been busy. I am hoping 'Hidimbha' will give me stardom.
I have three Telugu and two Tamil movies coming up this year. 'Mangalavaaram' in Telugu is one of them. I was supposed to do Payal Rajput's character in 'RX 100'. But I couldn't do it. Nobody could have done that character better than Payal. I got to work with director Ajay Bhupathi finally on 'Mangalavaaram'.
