Aishwarya Rajesh wants to play negative-shaded roles: ‘I’m ready for more challenging characters’

Aishwarya Rajesh believes every role should offer something new, and the actor now hopes to explore characters with darker shades after building a career known for emotionally layered performances.

Currently balancing projects across Telugu and Tamil cinema, Aishwarya says she continues to choose films based on storytelling rather than the experience level of the filmmaker. After receiving appreciation for her recent commercial outings, the actor believes this is the right phase to experiment with more complex characters.

Story matters more than experience

Over the years, Aishwarya has worked with acclaimed filmmakers as well as first-time directors. According to the actor, the deciding factor has never been a filmmaker’s résumé but the conviction behind the story.

She says every successful filmmaker was once a newcomer, and what ultimately matters is the confidence with which a director presents a script.

That approach has helped her build a filmography that includes both mainstream entertainers and content-driven dramas.

Every script goes through careful discussion

Aishwarya revealed that she follows a detailed script evaluation process before committing to any project.

Having spent over a decade in the Tamil film industry, she feels comfortable assessing scripts in that space. For Telugu projects, however, she prefers discussing every narration with a trusted creative team that includes writers and a director.

The actor also insists on reading a complete bound script before signing any film, allowing her to understand the narrative, character arc and emotional depth before making a final decision.

Commercial success hasn’t changed her approach

Following the commercial success of Sankranthiki Vasthunnam, Aishwarya received more offers in Telugu cinema. While she is open to commercial entertainers, she says she has no intention of abandoning meaningful stories.

Reflecting on her career, the actor explained that she has learned not to measure success through external appreciation alone.

According to her, both successful and unsuccessful phases are part of an actor’s journey, and maintaining confidence remains more important than temporary highs or lows.

Comfortable with regional dialects

One aspect of Aishwarya’s performances that frequently earns praise is her command over different dialects.

After speaking in the Godavari dialect in Sankranthiki Vasthunnam, she adopted a Telangana accent for Oh! Sukumari.

Being a Telugu speaker herself, she says switching between regional dialects comes naturally and enjoys bringing authenticity to every character through language.

OTT has expanded her global audience

Alongside films, Aishwarya continues to build a strong presence in streaming entertainment.

She credits the success of Suzhal with introducing her work to audiences across multiple countries. Released in dozens of languages, the series helped expand her international recognition.

The actor confirmed that she is currently working on new projects for both Prime Video and JioHotstar, reflecting her continued interest in balancing theatrical releases with digital content.

Looking beyond conventional heroine roles

After appearing in nearly 50 films, Aishwarya says she now wants to challenge herself with roles that move beyond traditional leading characters.

Among the performances she hopes to explore are powerful antagonists and psychologically layered personalities.

She specifically expressed interest in portraying iconic, negative-shaded characters similar to memorable women who dominate the screen through intelligence, intensity and emotional complexity.

Rather than following familiar templates, Aishwarya believes such roles would allow her to showcase a different side of her acting abilities.

A career built on versatility

From realistic dramas to commercial entertainers, Aishwarya Rajesh has steadily built a reputation as one of South Indian cinema’s most dependable performers.

With multiple films and OTT projects in development, the actor appears focused on expanding her creative range instead of staying within a single genre. If her future choices are any indication, audiences may soon see her take on the kind of morally complex roles she has long wanted to portray.