When she first listened to the story of The Girlfriend, Anu Emmanuel knew that she would derive creative satisfaction from doing the movie. Saying that the film is about women, in this interview, she thanks Geetha Arts for handling the important project with care.
The Girlfriend, headlined by Rashmika Mandanna and Dheekshith Shetty, has Anu in an interesting role. She is smitten by the male lead's charms in the movie, but her bond with Rashmika's Bhooma evolves into something else as the film progresses. Released in theatres last Friday, the film is produced by Dheeraj Mogilineni and Vidya Koppineedi, with Allu Aravind acting as the presenter.
Although I don't do movies with expectations of acclaim, I am happy with The Girlfriend's success. I have done commercial movies in the past. In some of them, I had nothing much to do other than being seen in songs and mouth run-of-the-mill dialogues. I have made up my mind to work on movies that have an artistic value. (After her debut in the mid-2010s, Anu got to act opposite some of the biggest names like Pawan Kalyan, Allu Arjun, Nani, Naga Chaitanya, Sivakarthikeyan, and Karthi in Telugu and Tamil). While I may not be totally satisfied looking at my filmography, as an actor, I am content.
Historically, many female-led films have been overlooked, not due to a lack of quality, but often because they lacked the necessary platform and support. The Girlfriend contrasts the societal pressures placed on women with the far narrower professional and financial expectations typically directed at men.
I approached Durga, my character in The Girlfriend, the way director Rahul wanted me to. He wanted me to underplay it and not overdo it with my expressions. Considering the nature of the character, I was unsure how she would be received by the audience during the first half. Since the characterization has been handled with sensitivity, everything went well.
I performed the dubbing myself for my character. Rahul specifically requested an American accent, which I felt made Durga's on-screen portrayal more compelling and natural. (Anu is an American actress of Indian descent).
Bhooma (Rashmika's character) and Durga complement each other. To be able to play Durga, the performer had to undergo what Bhooma has experienced over the years - as an adolescent and an adult.
The Girlfriend has a Hollywoodian approach to its characters. More than the protagonist-antagonist binary, it is about how each character contributes to the story.
Kerala is my home state. Upon returning from the US, I headed straight to Hyderabad. I have been living here for the past many years. I will once again start doing Malayalam movies if something interesting comes my way. I auditioned for a part in Aadujeevitham, but couldn't do it.
I have several new projects in development, though specific details will be announced once they move past the early discussion phase.
