“When one is new to the industry, one tends to accept every assignment that comes his way. That is what happened with me. But now I am careful in selecting my films,” smiles Lakshmi Rai. In a span of five years the petite actress may have done a few films but has the distinction of having acted with stalwarts like Mammootty, Mohanlal, Vijaykanth, Parthiban and Prakash Raj. “Actors are considered as blessed people as very few from thousands of aspirants make the grade. I am fortunate to have been accepted and am happy to be paired with seniors as well as contemporary heroes. It is learning experience acting with such greats,” she says. During the making of Pazhassi Raja, she got to learn a lot from Mammootty on the nuances of acting. She is again paired with him in Annan Thambi and has acted with another national award-winning actor Mohanlal in Rock N Roll.

“On the sets I become the character. I want the audiences to view me as the character on screen and not as actress Lakshmi Rai. I work hard towards achieving such impact through my performances,” says the actress. Incidentally, she had to act as Lakshmi Rai in her recent Tamil release, Vellithirai. “I played the role of an actress. So it is like enacting my real life role. Of course I was shown the original version, Udayananum Thara. Though the role appears in a few scenes and a song, I enjoyed doing it. For me it is not the length of the character that matters. Its importance in the film is what counts. It is a central character in the movie that helps the climax to build up and I am happy my performance is appreciated and the film is doing well.”

In her debut Telugu film, Kanchanamala Cable TV, she appeared in glam costumes. She says that if the story demanded she has no qualms in appearing in a glamorous role but within set boundaries. About gossip mills, she has definite views. “Spreading untruths naturally hurts. Friends warned me even before I entered this field about the rumour mills in the industry. Now it doesn’t bother me anymore. I know they are not true.”

The last of the three sisters, Lakshmi hails from a well-to-do family and her parents are her role-models. And in acting, she idolises Sridevi and Rekha. “I am not a stylized actor. I change my acting style according to the role I play. My aim is to win accolades as an actress.”

Her forthcoming films are Annan Thanbi (Malayalam) an action comedy directed by Anwar Rasheed, Minchina Ota (Kannada) with Murali directed by Cyanide fame M. R. Ramesh, Dham Dhoom (Tamil) directed by the late Jeeva and a Telugu film. “In Dham Dhoom, my co-stars are Jayam Ravi and Kangana Ranaut. I play a Russian lawyer and most of the film’s shoot took place in Russia. It is unfortunate that just before completing the film, cinematographer and director Jeeva succumbed to illness. And in Minchina Ota, I have one of my best roles so far,” says this former Ms. Belgaum who is all set to go places in the industry.