Meena expresses displeasure

Aug 10, 2008 PVS

Actress Meena has expressed displeasure at the way her role in "Kuselan" was treated. In an interview to leading English daily, she is quoted as saying that she got a big shock when the film was released.

Though she was the heroine in the film her name came after Nayanthara in the title card. "They did not have to put me down so badly I did not expect to be treated like this from a highly respected team." She said.

She played the role of the barber's wife which she had already done successfully in the Malayalam original "Katha Paramyumbol". According to her she accepted the same role in "Kuselan" as it came from a big banner and director. Even before the shooting started, she got all her doubts clarified with regard to the treatment of her character in Tamil as it was a Rajini film. "I thought I might be overshadowed. So, I called Director Vasu a couple of times and was assured that my role would be satisfactory."

But all was not well. Though she was the heroine of the film, she was missing from most of the film's publicity material which was concentrated on the superstar's persona and on Nayanthara's glamour. "Yes, this is a Rajini film and it ought to bank on his popularity. But as regards the other actors in the film, there's something called equality that isn't there," she pointed out.

She was shooting in Hyderabad when the film was released. Some friends who saw the movie called her and what they told her came as a big shock to her. Since then, it's ''awkward' for her to face any queries relating to the film, be it from family friends or people in the industry. "When they quiz me about the treatment my role was given I have no answers for them. It's all right if I had been indifferent from the beginning, but I made it a point to get my doubts cleared even before the project commenced. I did not expect to be treated like this from a highly respected team."

Asked whether she regretted acting in the film, she said in the interview, "I was given a beautiful character and did justice to it…but as a person I feel very bad for the way I have been treated."

On the criticism of her make-up in the film, she said she toned down the make-up after a couple of scenes as I felt it might not suit the character of a village girl.

She also pointed out that an emotional scene in which she performed well but it was not used. She was again surprised that another touching scene which came out very well and applauded by everyone on the sets was also not used in the final version. "Pasupathy (barber) and I had three children in the film – two girls and a boy. In this particular scene, the boy (the dark-skinned like his father) asks me why he was born this way. It's a touching scene."

Meena, however, was all praise for Rajini and said "he has remained the same since Anbulla Rajinikanth".

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