'My father decided that I should become an actor'

Meghashree Bhagavathar is the third generation of a family that has been actively involved in movies. She began acting soon after finishing Class X and has gone on to act in theatre, TV and movies. She is gearing up for the release of her movie Last Bus, and in a chat with BT, she tell us about her father’s role in her career and why challenging roles appeal to her.Excerpts…
Three generation of actors My grandfather, C Honnappa Bhagavathar, was a producer, director, singer, composer, lyricist and actor, and was well-known in the Kannada and Tamil film industries. He was responsible for introducing B Saroja Devi to the industry and also had his own theatre group. My father, Bharath Bhagavathar, did TV, films and theatre, and was known for his negative characters. Despite this, I never wanted to become an actor. After I finished Class X, I got an offer to act in a TV serial. I was shocked when my father asked me if I wanted to act and didn’t have an answer. So he made the decision for me. The next year, I made my filmi debut as Sudeep’s sister in Hubballi.
I was at ease in front of the camera I used to accompany my father to the set on his shoots, so I was aware of what went on there and how movies were made. This is why I wasn’t intimidated by the camera when I first faced it. Also, I have been acting since I was a child in school plays, so I wasn’t afraid when I gave my first shot. I was, however, very curious to see myself on TV and the big screen.
Theatre is like school I got into theatre after I did my first movie. In TV and films, you go on set, deliver what you have to, and you’re done. But in theatre, you learn a whole range of things — from acting, to discipline, how to work backstage, costumes and music; everything. Everyone dreams of being someone, but to realize that dream, you have to first go to school. And theatre is like school — if you want to become a big star, then theatre is your first step.
A dream-come-true character Last Bus is my ninth film and my character, Seethakka, is a dream come true. Before this, I was playing a comic character on a TV serial for a long time, and I wanted to do serious roles. Seethakka is a mistress in her early 30s and is a very important character in the movie. When Arvinda sir (director SD Arvinda) approached me to do this role, I was excited and immediately agreed to do it as I desperately wanted to play a challenging character.
Of tears and laughs Manasa Joshi and I got along famously. Every time we had a scene together, we would burst out laughing. The two of us had to cry for a scene, but we both began laughing. We had glycerin in our eyes and had tears rolling down our cheeks, but we were laughing hysterically, so it sounded like we were crying. The funny part is that no one on set, except us, knew that we were laughing — they all thought that we were actually crying, and that scene has been left as is in the movie.