Sangavi
Spreading her wings

It was in the mid-’nineties that Tamil filmdom witnessed the emergence of a new crop of heroes and heroines who posed a challenge to the established stars. A film of that period which easily comes to mind which had such a set of newcomers is Amaravathi. Sanghavi came to limelight with her glam doll role as a collegian. She hit the public eye with the Vijay starrer Rasigan, which was an out and out masala film. Soon she was much in demand. Everyone expected her to be the next movie queen but she seemed to have suddenly faded out, to resurface in Andhra and Karnataka (she is a Kannadiga) filmdoms. It was on the outdoor locales of the Tamil film Pukazh that she spoke about her career graph as an actress.

She was all excited because she had just received the news of her getting the award for her role in Aha Aha, a remake in Telugu. “ You know that though I came to Tamil cinema in glamour roles it was the Telugu cinema that gave me a break as the girl next door and I have been very busy in Andhra. You know that currently I have a Chiranjeevi film Mrigaraju and a YVS Chowdury film and also a film with director Upendra, who is the hero. In fact, I did Revathi’s role in the remake of Thevar Maghan in Telugu with Nagarjuna as the hero. It all goes to show that my film image is in Andhra,” said Sanghavi with a chuckle.

Clad in skin-tight jeans and sporting coolers, she was signing autographs for the rustic lads who had surrounded her. Resuming the thread of her recollections, she said: “In Tamil, I did get a lot of offers but the problem was that I was away in Hyderabad and there was no manager or anyone at home to follow up the calls. But now I have a manager in Chennai and as a result, I have got films like Rishi in which I am playing the lead opposite Sarath and now again I co-star with him in Pukazh, and with Prabhu in Thaali Kaath Amman. I am also doing a devotional film Rajarajeswari. A film opposite Prabhu Deva is also on the cards. I think this time I am confident of having a longer innings in Tamil. I like Tamil cinema because I like Chennai. Whenever I am free, I rush back to Chennai.”

Sanghavi has no qualms in being a glamour girl in Tamil films. “ The films are of course glamourous but its not that alone. I am given something meaty to perform and its glamour only in songs. I like this character of a tea shop vendor in Pukazh where I play a very crucial role in the story. Yet the character oozes sex,” she said.

Though she is a Kannadiga girl, hailing from Mysore, she is more keen to do Tamil films. “In Kannada, I am doing Nattpukahe remake in which I am doing the role which Simran has enacted. Its produced by Rockline Venkatesh. I am also acting in the trilingual devotional film starring Chiranjeevi and Arjun. It is being directed by Raghavendra Rao. However, now with so many Tamil film offers coming my way, I think for sometime I may not be able to take up more assignments in Kannada,” said Sanghavi.

She is confident that Rishi scheduled for release by January end will herald her comeback with a bang.

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