Priya Anand for playing the gold digger in A Simple Murder, working with actors Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Amit Sial and Sushant Singh, and the things he wants to achieve as an actor now.
Priya Anand: The Simple Assassination made me happy with life and work again |
But his latest project, A Simple Murder, aired on SonyLIV, is something that has given him the opportunity to challenge the actor. In the dark jokes, Anand plays Richa, the gold runner.
In this interview, Priya Anand talks about her character in A Simple Murder, the experience of sharing screen space with Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Amit Sial, Sushant Singh and Gopal Datt, and the things she plans to achieve as an actor now.
Why choose Simple Killer as your digital project?
I have been very fortunate to have the language become a skill set for me. I have been given many things in five languages, but I always felt that the text was flat. I didn’t see the point of doing the same thing I did in the movie on the web series. The content is very impressive where you can bring a different audience experience that would not be possible in a commercial setup. So for me, everything about the A Simple Murder script was great. Director Sachin Pathak phoned me and told me a little about this. After that, he sent me a few episodes and I was very connected to them. There were too many turns. The text was very impressive. Also, being able to work with Zeeshan Ayyub, Sushant Singh, Gopal Dutt and Amit Sial was like a dream for me. Most of them are NSD graduates, so I felt like a kid watching all these amazing games.
Aren’t you scared of playing a black character?
Not at all. I'm tired of doing the same thing over and over again. I don't do the same thing in one language, I do the same thing in many languages. Usually, I am always a neighbor girl or a girl who helps a hero achieve something. So, I was like I was going to keep doing that for how long. It’s okay to make commercial films at the beginning of the career. But it is time to do something fun, different and challenging. There could be nothing better than A Simple Murder.
She is shown dating two men - Manish and Rahul. It is a scheme that is ready to go to any length to earn money. But as a viewer, I have never hated your character. How do you strike a balance when it comes to dating?
I did not realize that Richa was wrong. That’s what I loved about program writing. It was not judging in any way. They just do it to show people who they are and then just leave it to the audience. Some people can connect with Richa. I saw Richa as a girl who started out like everyone else, with a good heart, good intentions and hope. Then, little by little, life becomes a reality, and he realizes that perhaps the things he thought were possible could not be reached. Also, anxiety comes in. So, he was frustrated and trying to do something with his life because all he tried, he failed at. Richa always had naively hopes.
Every character's actions have some correction. Don't you think Richa's greed for money has never been explained in this series?
But I think greed alone is such a human emotion. We all crave something. For some people, the distance you go from that feeling is different. For Richa, she was already blinded by what she wanted, that she didn’t care about anything else.
What was the whole experience of playing Richa as an unusual character?
I think I found some interesting things happening in Bollywood to me. I'm spoiled with this group. Normally, there were no more than five favorite people in the unit, but on the other hand, from manufacturer to producer, everyone was very popular. It was the intention of everyone to come up with it. Everyone had the joy, enthusiasm and loyalty they brought to this project, which I enjoyed with life and work again.
easy murder Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and Priya Anand in A Simple Murder.
You have a lot of co-workers working with you. Was it a learning experience?
I was very stupid because I didn't watch any TV, so I saw how amazing they were when I was working with them and it was too late for me to back off at that point. So I was amazed at their amazing performance. I loved working with Zeeshan especially because most of my scenes were with him. There is something about his calm energy, which makes you get into your performance. Also, I had read the whole script, and I knew what i had
Do you think that diversity in writing has led to better roles that can be followed for female characters today?
Absolutely. Also, access to these forums where the audience wants you to do something different is great. Many amazing actors find the right one in this way. So, I hope it continues. It is a favorite time not only for women, but also for men. Too many actors under our show have experienced repetition through this method.
What else do you think you want to achieve as an actor?
Now that I’ve done a simple murder, I feel like I haven’t gained anything as an actor. The things I did at the beginning of my career, were things you did for survival, and made the audience know who you were. Now I feel more than that and I look forward to being a part of good writing, good shows and working with amazing skills.