Manvita Kamath: Shiva 143’s Madhu is the bold romantic interest, but she’s also the antagonist

Manvita Kamath is looking forward to the release of Shiva 143 tomorrow because then, audiences will see that there’s more to her character in the film than the intimacy in the song Male Haniye. The film is the Kannada remake of the Telugu hit RX 100, with Manvita giving her spin to the character played by Paayal Rajput in the original. The character brief is of someone who is hypersexual, which explains the multiple lip-locks and other raunchy moments in the song.

“When I took up the role, I knew what it entailed, and I was mentally prepared for the intimate scenes. And while we shot those sequences, the director, Anil Kumar, ensured that there was minimal crew on set and that I would not feel uncomfortable in any way. Before every shot, Anil sir checked with me if I was okay to go ahead and shoot. I am an actor who loves being challenged, whether it is in doing an intimate scene or one in which I am sobbing. I knew I had to do whatever it takes to bring Madhu to life,” says the actress, about the intimacy in the film.

Although the character is quite bold, Manvita is glad she got the opportunity. In today’s times, it is rare for actresses to get good roles or content-oriented cinema and Shiva 143, she says, offers her both. “Moreover, the hero and heroine have equal importance in the narrative, which was a plus. The characters have been well-written, whether it is Dheeren’s (Ramkumar) Shiva or my role, Madhu. What struck me is the grey shade to Madhu’s character, even though she is the romantic lead in the film. I did a bold role in Tagaru too, but not like the antagonist that Madhu is in this tale,” the actress said during an online interaction for the film’s distribution channel KRG Connects.

Manvita adds that taking up the role in Shiva 143 meant breaking the image that she had in the Kannada film industry. “I have mostly done sweet, innocent, girl-next-door kind of characters. So, while playing Madhu, I had to ensure that I break this image, but in a way that audiences would still accept the character and hate her and not Manvita. If I manage that, then, I am happy,” says the actress.

In the scenes that had negative shades, Manvita said that she had to mentally prepare herself to ensure that whatever she did as Madhu would make audiences dislike her. “I am now looking forward to how audiences react to her,” she adds.