Priyadarshan once told Nagarjuna Akkineni that his daughter Kalyani Priyadarshan ‘couldn’t act’, now he’s proud of her success

Veteran filmmaker Priyadarshan recently spoke about his daughter Kalyani Priyadarshan after she rose to pan-India fame with the success of her last outing, ‘Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra.’ Talking about her, he revealed that there was a time when he believed his daughter would never become an actress.

Priyadarshan once believed Kalyani couldn’t act

While speaking with Pinkvilla, the ‘Hera Pheri’ director shared a surprising story from the past involving actor Nagarjuna Akkineni. He shared that he once thought his daughter, Kalyani Priyadarshan, could not act. “As a father, I am very proud that she has done a wonderful job. Basically, I never thought she would face the camera because, as a child, she never used to come to film sets. Later, she was an architecture student,” he said.

“All of a sudden, Nagarjuna called and asked if she wanted to work in films, and I said she couldn’t act,” he added.

Kalyani Priyadarshan was determined to try acting

Kalyani Priyadarshan, however, was confident about trying something new. She told her father that she wanted to give acting a chance. He recalled her words clearly. “She asked me, ‘Why can’t I try it? I have nothing to lose, and even if things don’t work out, I will go back to becoming an architect.’”

He also said she worked very hard after deciding to act. She even learned Malayalam for films.

“She couldn’t even speak Malayalam because she never lived in Kerala, but she learned all these things. This is not just about my daughter; all the kids of today, when they want to achieve something, go all the way to achieve it,” he said.

Priyadarshan compares ‘Lokah’ to ‘Avengers’ style films

Talking about ‘Lokah’, he added that he liked the film a lot and felt it was similar to a superhero-style movie like the ‘Avengers’, but made in a way that Indian audiences can believe.



During the same interview, the ‘Hungama’ director interestingly also mentioned that he and Kalyani rarely talk about movies with each other because they belong to different generations of cinema. Priyadarshan said, “I have never discussed any of my movies with her, nor does she discuss any of her work with me, because she belongs to this era and they have their own way of making cinema, while I come from an old school. We never discuss films.”

On the current work front, Priyadarshan is bringing the horror-comedy film, ‘Bhooth Bangla’ with his long-time collaborator Akshay Kumar. The movie also stars Paresh Rawal, Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, Rajpal Yadav, and Asrani in important roles.

It is set to release on April 10, 2026.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”