What taught Meghana Gaonkar to chill?

There are some instances that turn out to be life-changing, and that is what happened to Meghana Gaonkar while she was filming her upcoming movie, Simpallag Innond Love Story (SILS). The actress, who says that she always over-thought things, went on a literal and figurative journey during the making of the movie, during which she learnt to relax and enjoy life. In an informal road-side chat on a rather hot Bengaluru day, the actress opened up about the experience of making the film and what changes she would like to see in the film industry'

What is your role like in SILS? I play Khushi, who is a very khush (happy) girl. She is today's Bengaluru or Mysuru girl, who is traditional, yet modern. She doesn't let anyone take her for granted, but at the same time is also very chilled-out. It was very easy for me to relate to the character because I am also like that. Out of all the roles that I have done so far, Khushi is the closest to who I am. There is a lot of travel in the film' This is the first movie in which I am travelling so much. I love travel and I'm glad that I did this film. I was offered Simpallagi Ond Love Story, but couldn't do it due to certain reasons. But I am happy that I was a part of this film because the story goes along with the journey. There's a line in the film that I believe in a lot ' 'Hogo place kinta hogtiro darine ishta aagutte' (more than the destination, it's the journey that we should enjoy). I think that life should be like that as only then will you be happy about where you have reached. What was it like to finally work with Suni? People love Suni sir's dialogues, lyrics, the way he makes films and how he portrays his leading ladies. And that is what I like about Suni sir ' his films are not just about the hero, but about the heroine as well. He is the first director who gave me the script before we started filming. The script was so funny that I kept laughing when I was reading it at home; I was falling off the sofa laughing. Of course, that meant that we were laughing a lot while filming it as well. Even now, when we are asked to mouth the dialogues in colleges or during interviews, we all end up laughing. What have you taken away from the movie? Working with this team has given me a lot of time to chill. I have learnt to relax and not think too much. I am someone who thinks a lot about things and thinks a lot before speaking. I always want to be right, say the correct things and be a correct person. But when I was doing this film, I realized that you have to be yourself and the way that you are is the correct way to be. I learnt to just be myself. There is so much fun in this movie and everything is taken lightly, and I realized that that is the most important thing. During the filming, I thought, 'Why am I taking everything so seriously? Just relax and have fun.' A lot of people who watch it will also take that away from the film. It seems like you all had a lot of fun on the sets' Oh yes. The entire team was young and they don't have any strict rules ' they made their own rules and lived by them. It's was a very chilled-out atmosphere and that's what you need. Who wants to be around a Hitler? This is the first team that I have worked with that was OK with me suggesting something. So far, everyone had wanted me to stick to the script, which was a very rigid way of doing films. But, in this movie, whenever I asked Suni sir if I could do something, he would be very supportive and encourage me to do it. I felt happy that a director was finally telling me that I can give him his opinion and that it mattered. Times have changed and I feel that this team is going to make a difference in the film industry. Things in Sandalwood seem to be changing. Do you think this translates to the woman's role as well? Yes, definitely. There have always been nice women-oriented roles, but they have only been in bits. So, if there were 10 movies that were male-oriented, one would be woman-oriented. The ratio has been 1:10, but I think that things are changing now. The hero and heroine are getting equal weightage, and you can see this on film posters as well. Sometimes, heroines are at the forefront and the heroes take the back seat. Be it in the films, posters or songs, people want to see what the heroine is doing. And that's a nice change. What other change would you like to see in the Kannada film industry? I would love to see more dancing for the leading ladies. Whenever they introduce heroes, they get to dance a lot and showcase their talent. Heroines also have dance numbers, but they are only from the male point of view, so the dancing is all about how gorgeous the woman is or how sexily she can move. But I would like to see how a girl can dance from a woman's point of view. I have seen a lot of performances in other film industries in which the heroine gets to show off her dance prowess and I think that introduction songs here should be as powerful. Being a dancer, I wish that someday I have a great introduction song in which I can showcase my dance skills. And of course, I would love to be in a Kannada dance movie. Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”