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The actor talks about how she seeks to leverage stardom to champion underrepresented stories in cinema.
Kalyani Priyadarshan entered the world of films with a clear-eyed understanding of the industry. Having grown up around cinema, she has seen its volatility firsthand. “We all saw the ups and downs of our parents [in the industry]," she tells The Hollywood Reporter India.
"We’ve all seen how it can destroy a person when things aren’t going right, but we still choose to be here because of our love for cinema," she shares. "It keeps me sane.”
That love informs the way she approaches her work, even today. For Priyadarshan, filmmaking is a collaborative exercise, and her time working behind the camera has shaped how she approaches her work on sets. “I think it gives me a different kind of empathy for everyone on-set," she shares.
"When delays happen, I'm very aware that no one has planned for this, and I'm happy to wait in my van for hours on-set if something goes wrong.” In fact, she reveals, her experience working in production has also impacted the way she performs in front of the camera. "I’m a very private person, I have massive stage fright," she confesses.
However, knowing what she knows about the chaos of a film shoot, she no longer feels conscious about all the eyes on her during a take. “Everyone on set is focused on their work, and that helped me loosen up on set," she says. "I just surrender to my director, and the process is different for each film as a result.”
For her, it is not stardom that is the end goal—it's agency. "It’s not the popularity that excites me, it’s the freedom," she says. That freedom, as she sees it, is directly tied to power—the power of creative autonomy.
“I feel like, at least right now, in our country, producers are more willing to back stars than they are willing to back stories," she says. "I think that’s mainly the reason I get the freedom to choose the stories that I want, to give them the kind of backing I’d be able to give them, if I were a star."
Impact, for her, is tied to choice—the ability to support stories she believes in and help move them forward. But she is equally aware that the final word belongs elsewhere. The overwhelming response to Lokaa (2025) reinforced that for her. “The audience, they surprise you at every step.”