Would have regretted not taking up Iruvudellava Bittu

From the time she signed up for Iruvudellava Bittu, Meghana Raj has been mighty excited about the project. The film, about modern-day people striking a work-life balance and maintaining relationships, revolves around her character, Purvi. But when she was first offered the role, Meghana admits that she had her share of misgivings about the film, including the fact that director Kantha Kannalli was only on his second film.
“A year ago, Kantha had come home to narrate the script. At first, I loved the storyline, as I thought it would be very refreshing for Kannada audiences. And for me, as an actor, at that point, it would be a risk to do a character like that. So, I told him that I needed some time to think about it and that Kantha had to give me a bound script before I decided for or against,” says Meghana.
Meghana adds, “Kantha gave me the bound script, but even then I took a good three months to finally agree to do the role, as I kept running various scenarios in my head about whether it would work for me or not, whether I could pull off a character as complex as Purvi and even if I did, would audiences accept me in an avatar like that, considering that they have seen me play the more simple, straightforward girl-next-door kind of roles. After much thought, I realised that if I were to let go of a project like this, I would regret it some day.”
Her turmoil seems surprising, though, considering that Meghana has done complex roles before in her career in the different industries she has worked in so far. Why was she worried then? “There is diversity in all the characters I have played, irrespective of which industry the films were in. But, for Iruvudellava Bittu, the team was new to me, so I did not know the way they were going to work. Also, I had already collaborated with a newcomer once for Lakshmana and Kantha is also a newbie, so I was not sure how the film would work out for me. But after coming onboard and seeing his work ethic, I realised that Kantha knows what he is doing and brings that to the table,” says Meghana.
The film she adds, is very special to her. “I play a character so complex that I had to work on really hard. Purvi, I thought, was difficult to play because I had to be subtle and loud at the same time. I thoroughly enjoyed being her, even though, personally, I could not relate to her. The premise of the film is live-in relationships and Purvi is a woman who is willing to let go of everyone and everything to advance in her career. People may initially think that we are glorifying live-in relationships, but when you watch the film you will realise that is not the case. Instead the film explores how important relationships are and how we tend to ignore small things in life while only looking at the bigger picture. It also delves into the fact that while the journey of life is important, the people that you cross paths with along the way also matter. Iruvudellava Bittu is a film that will make you think whether what you are doing now is right, but in a feel good way," says Meghana.