Priya Anand: Maa Neella Tank is a cute-little story that we all need in the era of pan-Indian films

The show, to stream on ZEE5 this July 15, marks her return to the Telugu industry after a decade-long sabbatical

Priya Anand

Priya Anand has always been an effervescent, spontaneous performer, regardless of the language of the project she’s been a part of. Priya's 13-year-long career in the industry saw her take up a handful of offers predominantly in Tamil, while she made a mark in Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi industries too. She is best known for her appearances in Leader, 180 and Ko Antey Koti in Telugu.

After a 10-year-long sabbatical, she returns to entertain Telugu audiences with Maa Neella Tank, an eight-episode long web show for ZEE5. Directed by Lakshmi Sowjanya, the show has her paired opposite Sushanth. Nirosha, Vasu Inturi, Sudarshan, Divi Vadthya, Lavanya play key roles in the rural comedy, set to stream on the platform on July 15. The pre-release event was held today.

Speaking at the event, she said, “It’s been a decade since I’ve spoken on a stage in Telugu. I thank ZEE5 for organising this event because I wanted to meet people here from a long time. Maa Neella Tank is a special show, more so because I’m coming back to Telugu after 10 years. It was wonderful working with Sushanth, we had met earlier for an ad and I’m glad that I could find a place in this team.”

“Praveen Kolla a.k.a Pammi, the show producer is one of my very good friends. Most importantly, Maa Neella Tank is a cute, little story that we all miss in the era of pan-Indian films, thrillers. It was exciting to be a part of a feel-good love story. Lakshmi Sowjanya is the most demanding, controlling director I’ve ever worked with,” Priya further added.

Sharing her on-shoot experiences, Priya mentioned, “The cinematographer Aravind reportedly had a crush on me in his eighth standard; so, there was special treatment for me. The visuals of the song have turned out beautifully. I got to work with a lot of actors in the show. The beauty is that the subject’s scope isn’t restricted to a hero or a heroine. Every character has its own significance.”

Elaborating on why it was one of the most challenging projects in her career, she stated, “I worked hard and still enjoyed playing Surekha. Despite working for over 30 projects, Maa Neella Tank was very challenging for me. We worked amidst challenging weather conditions, I had to get the slang right and I thank the team for helping me with my dialogues and dubbing. I had a great time working on this. Please watch the show on July 15.”

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