Suman Ranganath goes deglam for Petromax; says she enjoys such diverse roles

Petromax is the actress’ fourth film with director Vijayaprasad.

Suman Ranganath

It would not be wrong to say that Suman Ranganath is a regular fixture in director Vijayprasad’s films. The actress was a part of his Sidlingu and Neerdose and will be seen in his next two, Thotapuri and Petromax as well. In fact, the role in Petromax is something she is quite excited about, because of how refreshing the characterization is.

In the film, which also stars Sathish Ninasam, Hariprriya, Karunya Ram and Nagabhushan, among others, Suman is Subbalakshmi, a woman from Chitradurga who has a general disinterest in life, given the experiences she has had along the way. Subbalakshmi, says the actress, lives in an ashram, which also meant that Suman had no scope to glam up, and had to darken her complexion a few shades. Suman took the role with no questions asked, because she trusts the filmmaking sensibilities of Vijayaprasad, who has given her diverse roles in all of his films so far.

In a conversation with TOI, Suman revealed that until Sidlingu, she was almost always considered for glamorous roles that relied on her tall, dusky, curly-haired good looks. Vijayaprasad, she says, had the vision that she was more than just glam and recognized the artiste in her, which is why he got her to do a rather normal school teacher’s role. In fact, the actress did not take up several films that would have seen her in glam roles again, as she waited for Sidlingu to release and for audiences and filmmakers to see her in a different light. The gamble paid off, and since then, Suman has been getting different roles, many of which have been in Vijayaprasad’s films. “Vijay sir knows how to lend a character gravitas and I enjoy working in each of his outings. I’d rather do two days of work that leaves me fulfilled than extended work where I don’t feel satiated as an actor. That’s the stage I’ve reached in life,” she said.

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