Priyanka Upendra on Ugravatara: But for 2-3 shots, I did all the stunts myself

Ugravatara will see Priyanka Upendra in a never-before-seen avatar. She plays a cop in the film, which is action quite-packed, with at least 5-6 major stunts. This, says Priyanka, was the challenging bit of taking on the role, adding that she had to physically prepare herself before going on floors.

Sriimurali’s Bagheera and Priyanka Upendra’s Ugravatara headed into a very crowded Deepavali box office 

Priyanka Upendra on her preparation to play a rough-and-tough cop

Speaking to Chittara Media, Priyanka said, “I included strength training in my fitness regime and has to practice the stunt routines, in terms of not only the blows and kicks I would deliver, but also my reaction to those directed at me, since timing is vital in getting it spot on. I also had to work on my body language. But for 2-3 shots, I did most of the stunts myself. There were a lot of rope-assisted jumps, which left me a tad bruised, but the end result looks fantastic.”

The actress adds that while she’s usually seen in more soft-spoken roles, as a cop in Ugravatara, she had to portray a rough-and-tough demeanour. As part of our prep for the role, Priyanka also began watching videos of police officers, as well as interacting with some to understand how an officer would behave. She also took inspiration from cop films starring Malashree, Vijayshanti, Devaraj, and Arjun Sarja, among others.

Exclusive! I hope that Detective Theekshna becomes a trendsetter: Priyanka Upendra

But what really drove Priyanka to taking up the film is that it has a good story, based on real-events, and has a pertinent message for society about women’s safety and empowerment. “The story is very compelling and I believe it needed to be told,” she said, adding, “I’m not sure how audiences will react to seeing me in action mode, but we’ve made this film for them and the hope is that they will turn up to watch it.”

Ugravatara is releasing on November 1, and will hit theatres in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. The film is heading into a major box office tussle, with films like Bagheera, Amaran, Brother, Bhool Bhulaiyya 3 and Singham Again, also releasing this Deepavalli.