I am content with my life – Sana

Sana has been part of over 400 films as a character artist and today, she juggles with acting in films, TV serials and her family with ease. She talks about her career so far and why she cannot say no to anyone.

I feel happy when I don’t win any awards because that inspires me to do better,” Sana remarks as she talks about her 15-year career during which she has acted in more than 400 films and TV serials. Being a character artist does have its share of benefits and when you are blessed with humility and a passion for what you do, it is not surprising that she has been so successful. She confesses that she always had a dream of opening a school and be known as a good actor. “I am here to act and that’ll always be my first priority,” she smiles.

Sana attributes the success of her career so far to her in-laws. “I got married at a very young age and I am blessed to have in-laws who pampered me more than my parents. My father-in-law wanted me to study further and at one point, I had even applied for an Air Hostess job with Indian Airlines. Then, in 1995, I saw an advertisement in a newspaper where a modelling agency was scouting for new models and I wanted to give it a shot. Thankfully, my mother-in-law supported me and I ended up getting an assignment. Soon, my posters were all over the town,” she recalls. She can’t stop blushing as she talks about her initial days and we ask her about how she got her first big break. “Krishna Vamsi wanted to cast me in Ninne Pelladutha after he saw me at Annapurna Studios. Till then I hadn’t signed any film because I was scared that I might end up misusing the freedom which my in-laws had given me. After three months, when I finally met Krishna Vamsi, I realised what a gem of a person he was. We bonded quite well on the sets and that was the first and last time in my career where the entire team was in tears on the last day of the film’s shoot,” she says.

Recently, she appeared in Bapu’s Sri Rama Rajyam and Suseendran’s Veedinthe, where she played a negative role. “Suseendran wanted me to learn all my dialogues in Tamil and I had put in a lot of effort for my role. Sometimes, I used to have sleepless nights but I am glad that my hard work has paid off,” she says. We remind her about her role as Kaikeyi in Sri Rama Rajyam. “That wasn’t my first mythological role. I must be the only actress who has played almost every Hindu Goddess you can think of right from Adi Parashakti to Vengamamba,” she chuckles, “I am lucky to have worked with so many directors and people who have always encouraged me. I didn’t even have a chance to look back and retrospect whether I should do a film or not. I can’t say no to people. Maybe that’s part of my upbringing. Sometimes, people insist that I act in their films even though it’s for one or two scenes.” What about films where her role is mercilessly chopped off? “It does hurt at times but the important aspect is that, the film is more important than anything else,” she replies.

Her son heads Evergreen Studios, which produces TV serials for Vijay TV, MAA TV and her daughter is a fashion designer.

“We are more like friends and thanks to them and my husband, I am quite content with my life,” she signs off.

Tags: character artist, Evergreen Studios, Sana, TV

Category: Tollywood