Priyamani: ‘Amit joked it’ll release now or he’ll change his name’

Priyamani

Maidaan went through so many delays that when director Amit R Sharma finally announced its April 10 release, Priyamani refused to believe it. "Amit Sharma said, ‘It's releasing on this date, else I will change my name.' I told him it was a challenge," laughs the actor.

Jokes aside, she is glad that the sports drama, set in the '50s, gave her a meaty role. While Ajay Devgn steps into the shoes of football coach and manager Syed Abdul Rahim, Priyamani plays his wife, who was his pillar of support. "The character was [treated] by the makers exactly how they narrated it to me. Whenever I would ask them if any of my scenes were cut in the end, they said, ‘Not at all. You aren't there to just establish the family. The family has an important role in the film.'" The icing on the cake was working with Devgn, something she had wanted for a long time. "He is such a brilliant actor and what he has brought to this film and his character is phenomenal."

A still from Maidaan; (right) Amit R Sharma

With Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan (2023) and now Maidaan, Priyamani has collaborated with two male superstars of the Hindi film industry. Not surprisingly, she cherished every bit of the experience. "Ajay sir and Shah Rukh approach their characters differently. Maidaan's set-up was a little serious. But off camera, Ajay sir would enquire about how the south industry functions, how the directors and actors are. With Shah Rukh, we got along like a house on fire. Every evening, he'd bring his guitar and music system out, and we all would jam. What each brings on screen is completely different, but both of them are phenomenal."

Beginning with The Family Man, the National Award-winning actor has steadily amassed a new fan base in the Hindi-speaking audience in addition to her south audience. She says, "I feel grateful that the industry is seeing me as capable of pulling off these roles."