Shivani Nagaram is marking her debut in Telugu cinema as the lead actress in “Ambajipeta Marriage Band,” alongside Suhas. The film, jointly produced by GA2 Pictures, director Venkatesh Maha under Mahayana Motion Pictures, and Dheeraj Mogileni Entertainment banners, is directed by Dushyant Katikineni and is set to hit theaters on February 2. During a recent interview, Shivani shared insights about her journey and the movie.
Do you feel lucky that you are entering Tollywood with a good movie like “Ambajipeta Marriage Band”?
Shivani expressed happiness and nervousness. I feel fortunate to be introduced with a good team and under a big banner. She eagerly awaits the audience’s response, emphasizing the responsibility that comes with being part of a significant film. I’m from Hyderabad. I went to another town for the first time for this film. All the shooting was done happily. We stayed in Amalapuram, Ambajipeta area for 75 days. We enjoyed the local beautiful weather and pleasant atmosphere. They also show a lot of love there. I usually speak in Telugu and there will be few dialogues with a slang.
I got the opportunity in this film through an audition. I secured the role through an audition, initially aiming for the friend’s role but landing the lead. I prepared rigorously for emotional scenes to learning every dialogue. Despite being a Kuchipudi dancer in real life, I got no opportunity to showcase her dance skills in this film. My character name in “Ambajipet Marriage Band” is Lakshmi. It was challenging to do some emotional scenes. But I prepared well for a month before we started shooting. Learned every dialogue. The scenes should have been done perfectly. Acting on the set was not difficult due to this preparation.
Suhas got National Award for Color Photo movie. Working with him was happy and comfortable. The performance of the co-actors also affects us. We used to act better after seeing Suhas like that. As it is my debut movie, I got good support from Suhas. There are many talented Telugu girls. All of them should get good opportunities. Those projects should be successful. Only then will Telugu girls get recognition in our Tollywood. Many people are coming out. There are many advantages for Telugu girls to act in Telugu movies. If a dialogue is given to me in the set, I can say it immediately because I know the language. If you are an actress in another language, it takes time to understand and act. If the heroines are Telugu girls, the shooting can be done quickly. Director Dushyanth has given importance to every character in the story of “Ambajipeta Marriage Band”. In this, the character of Lakshmi, which I played along with Suhas, has lot of importance. Also, Saranya’s role is good. The villain character is also crucial. In terms of writing, everyone got good characters in this movie. Every character is beautiful. I have no combination scenes with Sharanya. I can’t reveal too much about this story. You have to see it in the movie itself.
I want to do characters who are not only heroines, but who are crucial in the story and have a chance to show their talent as actresses. If they are roles that come and go in the story and have an impact, then it is okay. We did a promotional tour of “Ambajipet Marriage Band” in AP. We went to places like Vizag, Vijayawada, Eluru, Rajahmundry. The affection shown by the people there cannot be forgotten. We got lot of love. Seeing the response to the teaser of our film, there was pressure to cut the trailer well. The trailer also got a good response. “Ambajipeta Marriage Band” trailer got 4.4 million views. I couldn’t believe the love the audience showed me during the trailer launch. I hope that the character of Lakshmi I played in the film will get a good name.
Gumma is my favorite song in this movie. I wanted to sign my new project after the release of this movie. There have been some offers but so far no other movie has been accepted. My favorite actors are actors like Savitri, Sridevi, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Allu Arjun, Nani, and Suhas.
