She doesn’t pout, she doesn’t believe in baring her skin and she doesn’t accept roles where she needs to play a damsel in distress, waiting to be rescued by macho heroes. Yet, 22-year-old Swati is touted to be the next big thing in Tollywood. With her girl-next-door looks and her charming histrionics, this city girl has won the hearts of her audience and also impressed the critics. In fact, she has even found a fan in Mani Ratnam who was bowled over by her performance in the Tamil flick Subramaniapuram recently. “Though he didn’t personally call me, his compliment came as a surprise. Wherever I go, people just talk about that. It came as a surprise for me when my director called to tell me how much Mani sir liked my performance.”
So is she being roped in for Mani’s next? And is that why we hear her rattling off in fluent Tamil at any given opportunity? “Well, not really. I learnt to read, write and speak Tamil on the sets of my Tamil film so that I can get into the skin of the character. I even dubbed for the role... hence, the Tamil hangover,” she quips, adding, “I speak Tamil well.” No wonder then that Tamil offers are pouring in. But Tollywood is where her heart is, she says.
Often called the Preity Zinta of T’wood, Swati’s often criticised for not taking risks and doing just ‘bubbly roles’ that suit her image. “Well, that’s just a baseless allegation. I think it’s got more to do with the fact that my TV show Colours was so popular... people still have that 16-year-old girl’s image in their minds. It will take some time for them to get over it.” All four movies she’s acted in has portrayed her differently, she says. “I am choosy and accept scripts that are totally different from my previous projects,” she adds. In a hero dominated industry where glam dolls are all one-movie wonders, Swati says, “All I want is to be remembered, that’s all.”
