Actress, Lakshmi Manchu is the daughter of veteran actor, Mohan Babu, who is an influential figure in the Telugu film industry. She shifted her base to Mumbai in 2023 and started working on Hindi projects. The actress has been actively meeting Hindi filmmakers in Mumbai and looking for interesting work. Lakshmi recently shared that her family was the biggest obstacle in her acting career and talked about their discouragement.
In an interview with Free Press Journal, Lakshmi Manchu was asked about the 'roadblocks' she faced while shifting to Mumbai from Hyderabad. Responding to the same, the actress shared that her family didn’t let her move for the longest time as they had their own qualms. She shared that her best friend, Rakulpreet kept insisting that the former should move to Mumbai and added:
"There was only one roadblock, my family. They didn’t let me move for the longest time. We are a very close-knit family. They told me, 'Why do you have to be a small fish in a big pond?' They had their own qualms. I used to stay at my best friend Rakulpreet’s house. She kept insisting that I move to Mumbai."
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Lakshmi recalled that her daughter was too small so she was hesitant to shift to Mumbai. However, her friend, Rana Daggubati convinced her that she couldn’t stay in Hyderabad forever and needed to venture out. On the other hand, her father, Mohan Babu, had even discouraged her from becoming an actor initially and tried to get the idea out of her head. She said:
"My daughter was small too. I was chatting with Rana (Daggubati), and he told me that I couldn’t stay in Hyderabad forever. I couldn’t sleep for three nights. Men down South aren’t okay with heroes' sisters or daughters being actresses. They step back from casting people like us. Prakash introduced me to the movies, but my dad and his dad tried to get this idea out of our heads."
In the same conversation, Lakshmi Manchu talked about the people she met in Mumbai for work and revealed that it was a pleasant experience for her. She shared that while her father had worked with almost every senior actor in Bollywood, she met Aanand L. Rai and Anurag Kashyap during her stay in Mumbai. In her words:
"Things have been really nice here in the city. I am amazed to see the kind of respect that I and my family hold. My father had worked with almost every senior actor here in Bollywood. I met Aanand L. Rai and Anurag Kashyap. I have amused them, it seems (laughs)."
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When asked about her thoughts on the patriarchal system in the film industry, Lakshmi Manchu called herself a victim of patriarchy. She revealed that while her brothers got everything easily, she had to fight for it. Lakshmi went on to add that not just in the South industry, patriarchy exists in all parts of the country. She said:
"I am a victim of patriarchy. I had to fight for the things that my brothers get easily. It happened in my own. We are a patriarchal society, we have to call it out rather identifying it. It is not only in South industry but also exists in all parts of the country. We are more than privileged since we live in Mumbai but reality is beyond us."
What are your views on Lakshmi Manchu's revelations? Let us know.
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