Priyamani:”The Family Man” was a dream debut and a fantastic one too!!!

Priyamani  Who Plays  Manoj Bajpai’s Hard-to-Please Wife In  The Family  Man Speaks To  Subhash K Jha On How The Series Has Changed Her Life.

 I have been watching your work right from Satyam ..you’ve a   terrific screen presence you are always interesting to watch..how does it feel to get a pan India audience after Family Man?

It feels amazing being part of the OTT platform and to be part of a fabulous series like The Family Man…dream debut and a fantastic one too!!! Never knew I would get pan Indian audience who like my work!! So really thank you to Raj and DK for giving me SUCHI.

Did you ever expect this franchise to go this far?

 Honestly I did not know what to expect when season 1 came out..and we started shooting for season 2 much before season 1 released ..once we got to know that season 1 was a huge success the onus fell on all of us ,more so on the co-directors, to make season 2 even bigger and better  which they have done …and we all are on cloud 9 as both  the seasons have received a phenomenal response.

Initially when you accepted the part what were your expectations and how far do you think the role and character has evolved from season 1 to 2?

I did not expect much when I joined the series but thanks to Raj sir and DK sir and Suman Kumar for writing the role of Suchi so well that a lot of people have identified with the character and have appreciated my acting as well and have  been sending me a lot of texts on a daily basis.The character has definitely evolved from season 1.The emotional graph is higher from season 1.Suchi’s  equation with her daughter Dhriti is a little different from season 1 and even with her Srikant also…so lots of emotional ups and downs.

The wife Suchi seems to be a bit of a grump why is she so unhappy with Srikant when he is always trying to make her happy?

Well according to Suchi she wants someone to talk to and someone who will listen to her..which obviously Srikant is doing but in his own way which is not ok for her.She feels they lack communication since he’s always busy with his work ,given the nature of his job.

How did you and Manoj work out a common ground?

 It’s basically a give and take policy.I think from season 1 I have learnt a lot especially while working with a fabulous actor like Manoj sir .I have tried to study his body language for the scenes with us .I’m yet to understand how he does what he does.He’s just brilliant. So it’s basically how he approaches a scene and we have to go by how he acts and reacts …and we feed off each other’s reactions.

How has FM changed your life? Do you get some hate mail for being so rough on Manoj?

 Hahahahahaha TFM has definitely changed my life for the better .I couldn’t have asked for a better debut on an OTT world …Yes I do get a lot of negative comments too .That means I have done something right in the character .So I see it as a win-win situation

You have spoken on being body shamed , colour-shamed and being called an Aunty..why  Aunty??.Do you think gender bias is prevalent in both the South and Bollywood? how do you cope with it?

Well I guess they love to call me Aunty Because of the age maybe ?? The audience will have the answer for that I guess…

Are you looking forward to Season 3 as much as we are?

Yes as an audience and as an artist …can’t wait for season 3

You will be seen with Ajay Devgan in Madaan how is that experience?

It was an absolutely fantastic experience working with Ajay Sir and (producer) Boney Kapoor sir and (director) Amit Sharma .That’s one movie I’m looking forward to seeing on the Big screen.