Shruti Haasan talks about her Salaar co-star Prabhas: ‘He is powerful and magnetic’

Shruti Haasan plays Aadya in Prashanth Neel’s Salaar Part 1: Ceasefire. Having grown in the US, far away from the violent world of Khansaar her father belongs to, she serves as a conduit for the audience. The more she finds out about Deva’s (Prabhas) gory backstory, the more shocked both you and her are. “I was quite intrigued by my role,” Shruti explains to Hindustan Times in an exclusive interview. “Aadya is a misfit in that violent world and it was interesting to see things unfold through her eyes,” she adds. In a freewheeling chat, she gets candid about everything from working in Salaar to how she felt when SS Rajamouli hoped she had a dance number in the film and more. Excerpts: (Also Read: Prithviraj Sukumaran about his Salaar co-star Prabhas: I get why they call him ‘darling’)

On how watching Prabhas act is like a magic trick…

Shruti says that Prabhas is quite “interesting” as a co-star. “I partly said yes to Salaar just to act with him,” she admits. And while expected, the actor says she was surprised by how he can switch from his brooding character to his laidback offscreen persona with ease. “He’s quite chill, friendly and relaxed off-screen. He’s more kind, thoughtful and generous than people would expect,” she says, adding, “But when Prashanth would call action, a whole different Prabhas would show up.”

Prabhas is powerful and magnetic, watching him switch from himself to Deva is like watching a magic trick happen.

On SS Rajamouli complimenting her dancing skills…

The only interview Prabhas gave in person ahead of Salaar’s release was to Baahubali director SS Rajamouli. Prashanth and Prithviraj Sukumaran joined him for the chat. While talking about Shruti, Rajamouli noted how he was disappointed she had no dance number in the film, stating, “I like her songs from Race Gurram and Srimanthudu, I love her dancing. I just learnt there are no duets in the film. Prashanth, you disappointed me.”

Shruti claims she’s “flattered” that the director likes the way she dances but it's not something she looks for in a film anymore. “It made me super happy to know that Rajamouli sir likes my dancing,” she says, adding, “But when I signed this project, I knew the story was the focus here. It’s the story that made me want to be part of Prashanth’s world.”

Not a lot of the films I’ve said yes to post my hiatus in 2017 have me dancing, because the characters I pick no longer demand it.

On having an interesting 2023…

Shruti began the year by playing lead roles in two Telugu films that were released on simultaneous days in January - Veera Simha Reddy and Waltair Veerayya. In the former she played a tone-deaf aspiring singer and in the latter, she played a RAW agent. “The highlight of my year has been to begin and cap off the year with my releases. I started off the year co-starring with Balakrishna and Chiranjeevi sir, and ended it with Prabhas. I even released a special single called Monster Machine this year, a song about self love,” she explains, hoping the next year won’t be any different.

I already know I’ll have a busy 2024. I don’t like to overplan things but in the coming year, I hope to find myself through my work.

Upcoming work

Shruti will soon be seen in an English project titled The Eye. Directed by Daphne Schmon, Mark Rowley plays her co-star in the film. The film has been screened at the London International Film Festival and the Greek International Film Festival so far. “The Eye is a psychological thriller and it’s close to my heart. It’s currently touring at international film festivals and will have a theatrical release soon,” she says.

The actor also has a Telugu-Hindi bi-lingual titled the Dacoit, directed by Shaneil Deo and co-starring Adivi Sesh. The makers recently released a teaser which sees her dressed in a saree and looking salt-of-the-earth. Ask her about it and she clams up. “I’m happy everyone loved the teaser,” is all she says, adding, “I’m working with a lovely team and can’t wait to be back on the sets of Dacoit. 2023 was a good year for me, I hope 2024 won’t be any different.”

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