'Actresses don't fear losing work'

Actresses who keep delaying their wedding plans may be career-oriented, says Amala Paul, who has worked in southern films and who believes the industry has room enough for lead heroines who may have crossed the 30s-mark.

"To get married or not is a personal choice. Some actresses postpone wedding plans because they give more importance to career, but not because they fear going out of work," Amala, who has appeared in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films, told IANS.

The 21-year-old also spoke about the importance of family support for an actress to make a decision as crucial as marriage.

"We live in India, and to act post-marriage needs a lot of family support. Not all families are open to the idea of seeing their daughters or daughters-in-law act after marriage," she added.

Amala, who made her cinematic debut at a very young age with Malayalam romantic-drama "Neelathaamara", believes that today's actresses need not worry about their shelf-life.

"Today, we have actresses playing lead roles even at the age of 35. I don't think actresses have a shelf-life, because some prefer to work for many years, while others decide to get married and settle down. It's again a personal choice," said the actress.

In her brief career in filmdom, she has starred opposite superstars such as Vijay, Vikram, Mohan Lal and Ram Charan Teja, but Amala says she gives prime importance to the script.

"I don't do films only with superstars. I have done films with newcomers as well and I'm always open to work with everybody provided I get an interesting script. I have worked with new actors such as Atharva and Vidharth. I believe script matters the most and everything else follows," she said.

She has tasted success with films such as "Naayak", "Vettai" and "Kadhalil Sodhappuvathu Yeppadi", but Amala says she likes to talk less and work more.

"I don't think I have grown to be successful. Every day is a learning process in this industry. You learn and unlearn and learn again," she added.

What did she learn from her experience as an actress?

"(That) I don't want to mix my professional life with personal one. I want to ensure I don't miss out on the fun people have at my age. I believe in destiny and, therefore, intend to just go with the flow and see where life takes me," said Amala, who holds a degree in Literature.

Amala, who is considered a highly glamorous actress, says actresses always need to look good in front of the audiences.

"If I'm attending a professional gathering, I try my best to look good. This is because audiences always want to see us like they see us on screen. They are not used to seeing us without makeup. I'm always in touch with my fans via social networking and I know their pulse," she said.

"But I'm least bothered about how I look when I'm with my family or friends. I try differentiating between personal and professional life even when it comes to looking good," she added.

On the career front, Amala has dubbed for the first time in Tamil action-drama "Thalaivaa".

"I always felt uncomfortable acting to the voice of someone else. It was a big dream to dub and my crew told me it made a lot of difference to my performance. I think audiences have to eventually gauge my effort," she said.

She is currently awaiting the release of Tamil-Telugu bilingual "Nimirnthu Nil". She also has an untitled Tamil project with Dhanush in her kitty.

(Haricharan Pudipeddi can be contacted at haricharanpudipeddi@gmail.com)