Actor Anjali Sivaraman is steadily carving out a place for herself with a string of notable projects. After making an impression with Netflix’s ‘Class’ and earning praise for her performance in the Tamil film ‘Bad Girl’, the actor has now landed an international project in Mira Nair‘s upcoming film ‘Amri’. While that marks a significant milestone in her career, Sivaraman says her next destination is Hindi cinema.The actor revealed that although she hasn’t finalised her next Bollywood project yet, she is actively reading scripts and hopes to make her Hindi film debut soon.
Bollywood is the next goal
Fresh off the buzz surrounding ‘Bad Girl’, Sivaraman shared that she is carefully considering her next move instead of rushing into projects.“Hopefully, my next project will be in Hindi films. I haven’t signed anything yet, but I am reading a lot [of scripts]. I’m hoping to be a part of at least one.”Having already expanded her filmography across digital platforms, Tamil cinema and now international cinema with ‘Amri’, the actor believes the time is right to explore opportunities in Bollywood.When asked about the filmmakers she hopes to collaborate with, Sivaraman didn’t hesitate to name two of Hindi cinema’s most acclaimed directors, Zoya Akhtar and Meghna Gulzar.“I want to work with Zoya Akhtar and Meghna Gulzar.”Explaining why she is particularly drawn to women filmmakers, she added, “They have such a strong voice and incredibly strong female characters.”According to the actor, stories led by layered women are the kind of projects she naturally gravitates towards.
Why she refuses stereotypical roles
Despite being in the early stages of her career, Sivaraman already has a clear idea of the characters she wants to portray. She revealed that she consciously avoids roles that exist only to support the protagonist without having an identity of their own.“I try to stay away from roles that are ‘best friend oriented’ or ‘hot girlfriend oriented’. I like to play layered, complex characters to whom I can bring some humanity.”The actor believes meaningful characters allow performers to contribute far more than surface-level appearances and are ultimately more fulfilling creatively.
Saying no isn’t easy
Turning down projects hasn’t come without anxiety. Sivaraman admitted that refusing opportunities often brings fears of losing future work or being misunderstood within the industry.“It’s difficult to even get yourself into the room that gets you an opportunity. Then to say no is heart-breaking.”She continued, “I have said no with the fear that the person will think that I’m unprofessional or blacklist me; or now that I said no, will I ever get another opportunity? I continue to face these insecurities.”However, the actor believes trusting her instincts is more important than accepting every offer that comes her way.“But at the end of the day, my self-belief has to be greater than my insecurities.”Sivaraman first caught audiences’ attention with Netflix’s ‘Class’, the Indian adaptation of the Spanish series ‘Elite’. She was recently seen in ‘Bad Girl’, and will next feature in Mira Nair’s much-anticipated biographical drama ‘Amri’, based on the life of celebrated Hungarian-Indian painter Amrita Sher-Gil.
