Sushma Reddy gears up for Bollywood

From a glamorous VJ to a simple village girl on screen, Sushma Reddy has come a long way. She has also been lucky, having done a Priyadarshan film after her debut - the complex Chocolate. “I just wanted to work with Priyan Sir. I didn’t expect to get such offers at this stage,” says the actor over phone from Mumbai.
There isn’t much doubt that Sushma, who stars in director Priyadarshan’s Chup Chup Ke, had a lot of fun working for the film that is set to release on June 9.
In the film, she plays Pooja, who, according to her, is a “simple village girl who loves her fiancé blindly but is also very stubborn”. Sushma says she is “stubborn and determined like Pooja but otherwise there isn’t any similarity”. The actor says she enjoyed sporting the minimal make-up look in the film.
Sushma is all praise for her co-stars, including Shahid Kapur (who plays Pooja’s fiancé), Kareena Kapoor, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal and calls it an ensemble cast of talented people.
“It was a democratic set up. On set chemistry is very important. Everyone was so nice to me. Never did I feel out of place,” says the actor who describes Shahid as very helpful. “It did make a huge difference as it was only my second film,” says the economics graduate who has also featured in several ad campaigns for brands such as Tanishq, Lakme and Thums Up.
Sushma says that Chup Chup Ke is not only a comedy but also a family drama and a romantic film. What kind of comedy does Sushma do in the film? “You have to wait and watch,” comes her reply.
Working with Priyadarshan was an experience to remember. “He is a superb talent. He conceives his own ideas, edits his films on his own and is a big fan of spontaneous performances,” says the elder sister of Meghna and Sameera.
Having been a VJ and a model, Sushma is enjoying her stint as an actor - a learning process that she calls “intense business”. She has Mahesh Manjrekar’s Big Bazaar, a film on the lives of mill workers and Puneet Issar’s next film in her kitty.
But, now, all eyes are on Chup Chup Ke. “I have high expectations from the film. It’s a different script,” says Sushma.