I'm not against remakes: Sharmiela Mandre

Chennai, April 18 (IANS) Southern actress Sharmiela Mandre, who has featured in remakes such as "Sajni" and "Mirattal", supports the idea of revisiting old classics because she feels such films are tested and proven.

"I don't see the need to oppose remakes. Most films are being remade because the original has been tested and proven. Today, most big-budget films in Bollywood are southern remakes," Sharmiela told IANS.

However, she clarifies that she would do remakes only if it would offer her a substantial role to play.

"Personally, I would oppose remakes if I'm not happy with my role. In fact, I would not even sign a remake if I wouldn't get to play an interesting role," said the actress who recently signed an untitled Kannada film, a remake of Tamil romantic-comedy "Goa".

While her Kannada debut "Sajni" was a remake of Tamil romantic drama "Jodi", her Tamil debut "Mirattal" was the remake of Telugu romantic-comedy "Dhee".

However, she feels remakes also come with a set of challenges.

"Remakes are highly prone to comparison. I still remember how people compared my role in 'Mirattal', which was originally played by Genelia D'Souza (in 'Dhee'). It's very important not to get carried away by such predetermined notion of the audience," Sharmiela said.

She feels one should not copy or imitate performances of actors from the original while working on a remake.

The "Goa" remake is being directed Surya, while Shankar Gowda is producing it. The film went on the floors few days back. Sharmiela will join the team Saturday in Goa.

Set against the backdrop of Goa, the film is "not a frame-to-frame copy of the original ... a lot of changes have been made to the script. It's a youthful film that would instantly connect with today's youngsters," she said.

Meanwhile, Sharmiela is awaiting the release of Telugu romantic-comedy "Kevvu Kekka".

She is likely to sign a Telugu-Tamil bilingual soon.

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Mirattal