Rameshwari: Dulhan Wahi Piya Man Bhaye was misinterpreted

Talluri Rameshwari didn’t need dozens of films to climb the ladder of success; her iconic movies ‘Dulhan Wahi Piya Man Bhaye’ and ‘Seetamalakshmi’ were enough to establish her name in the industry. Her character in the former film was so much loved that everyone wanted a daughter-in-law like her.

Reflecting on the same, the actress revealed it was both overwhelming and scary.“I used to get scared that I was not like that. I am not like that. I played this simple, straightforward woman, who is willing to please everyone, but she was no doormat,” said the actress in an exclusive interview with us.While audiences saw a soft-spoken, ever-obedient heroine, Rameshwari quietly resisted being boxed into that image.

She shared, “People misinterpreted the character of ‘Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye’ a lot. They felt that she was a doormat when she was not. But somehow, people wanted me to be a doormat in the film.”She added, “During shooting, I used to ask questions to the directors. Directors like Lekh Tandonji(who directed Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye)were happy with the questions. Other directors resented it. I did my second film, a Telugu film.Seetamalakshmi.That was a big hit.

And I didn't ask questions in that.”Success came quickly—but so did disillusionment. Even as she delivered hits, she sensed a creative standstill. “After about 30 films, I felt I was stagnating. The realization came to me when I was doing an Odiya film called Manini in 1985. It was a very good work, even better than Dulhan Wahi Jo Piya Man Bhaye. I had evolved as an actress. But I felt it was not going anywhere,” she shared.Then came a tragic turning point—an on-set accident during the filming of ‘Sunaina.’ Speaking about it, the actress said, “It was very tragic, very tragic. I suppose it had to happen, you know.”“I had a black eye, actually. That black eye took nine months to heal. Maybe in today's medical world, it'd be a different kind of treatment. I did quite a few films even after the injury. J Om Prakash’s Asha was a bit hit. But I didn’t know how to capitalize on that.”Fast forward to the present time, we asked Talluri Rameshwari about her current criteria for selecting movies. “I want to see what kind of impact the character has on the story. In ‘Uppu Kappurambu’ actually the director convinced me to do it. I didn't want to do it because it was physically strenuous,” she replied.“I was part of ‘Devra’. I enjoyed it for a different reason. Because of that, the mysteriousness of that character.

It's a small character, but it's a very mysterious, very, you know, what is she exactly? What does she know? That kind of thing.” She continued, “I have a lot of time to make films. But at the same time, I don't want to be underpaid. There are a lot of offers, but they want to kind of downgrade you in some way. There are two or three incentives for a character artist. One is that you get lovely characters. So, when you do those lovely characters, even if it is a two-day job or a five-day job, it's very satisfying.” “You know, you feel that you have fulfilled the need of the character. That is what I want. And the other one is that I want job satisfaction. Job satisfaction,” concluded the actress.