Actor Lakshmi Manchu says she has reached a stage in life where she feels more comfortable with herself and less concerned about meeting expectations around appearance or perception.
Known for moving across Telugu, Tamil and Hindi cinema, while also exploring OTT projects and production, Lakshmi has built a career around choosing work that challenges her rather than simply chasing conventional opportunities.
In a recent conversation with Hyderabad Times during a jewellery pop-up, the actor spoke about her approach to scripts, the kind of women she wants to see represented on screen and how her relationship with herself has changed over the years.
Lakshmi Manchu Chooses Stories Over Screen Time
For Lakshmi, the size of a role is not necessarily the deciding factor when she receives a script.
She says the first thing she looks for is the filmmaker’s perspective and whether the story offers something she has not encountered before.
“The first thing I look for in a script is the filmmaker’s perspective. Something I haven’t heard before,” she said.
The actor believes a strong story can make even a relatively small role worthwhile.
“Whatever I do, I know I’ll do a great job. But it has to be the story. I could do a fantastic job in a horrible script and it all goes to waste. But even if I have one scene in a great script, that gets to be sustained.”
She currently has several projects lined up. Lakshmi has completed two Telugu films, both comedies, along with a Tamil film, all of which are awaiting release.
She is also preparing to take a new show into production after developing it for nearly three years.
“I’ve been working on it for three years now, and finally it’s going into shooting. I’m very excited about it,” she said.
‘People Want Me to Beat People Up, Scare People’
Despite her versatility, Lakshmi says the industry often has a particular image of her when it comes to casting.
Romantic roles, she jokes, are not usually what filmmakers offer her.
“People just don’t give me those roles. I’ll run around trees and romance a stone if I have to. They want me to beat people up, scare people. I get roles like that.”
While she takes the situation lightly, Lakshmi believes the film industry needs to broaden its understanding of what constitutes a strong female character.
For her, strength isn’t simply about making a female character aggressive or physically powerful.
“A strong female character is somebody who can say, ‘I like this and I don’t like this,’ rather than saying yes to everything the protagonist says,” she explained.
She believes a woman challenging the lead character or expressing an independent opinion should not automatically be treated as an extraordinary act.
“Where she challenges him. That’s just having a voice. It’s not being strong. And that itself is silenced in most of our movies.”
Woman-Centric Success Stories Make Her Wonder ‘Why Didn’t I Do It?’
Lakshmi’s preference for layered female characters has increasingly influenced the kind of stories she wants to explore.
She admits that when a woman-led film becomes a major success, she sometimes experiences a little professional envy.
“I’m like, why didn’t I do it? But it’s never a regret. It’s just jealousy,” she said.
That response reflects her continuing interest in stories that give women meaningful agency rather than simply positioning them around male protagonists.
Asked whether she would rather work in front of the camera or behind it, however, Lakshmi doesn’t hesitate.
“Always in front of the camera. It’s the easiest thing.”
Lakshmi Manchu Says She Is Less Concerned About Appearance
One of the biggest changes Lakshmi has experienced over the past decade, she says, has been internal rather than professional.
She feels more secure in who she is and less inclined to constantly monitor how other people perceive her.
“I’m more sure of myself. I’m more in my body. I’m more grounded,” she said.
That confidence has also changed the way she approaches her appearance.
“If I have layers of fat, I have layers of fat this week. Before, I would be conscious about being a certain way. Now I don’t care.”
Rather than focusing primarily on how she looks, Lakshmi says she is increasingly interested in what her body can do.
“Now I just want to wake up and be strong… Am I able to optimally work rather than how I look?”
For her, reaching her 40s has brought a broader perspective on what deserves attention.
“In your 40s, you realise there are so many other things in life than appearance.”
A More Self-Assured Phase of Her Career
Lakshmi Manchu’s comments point to an evolution that goes beyond her choice of films. The actor appears increasingly comfortable defining success on her own terms — whether that means selecting a story because it genuinely interests her, questioning the industry’s portrayal of women or simply refusing to obsess over how she looks.
With several projects awaiting release and a long-developed show finally moving toward production, she appears to be entering another active phase of her career.
And if her latest comments are any indication, Lakshmi is approaching it with considerably more confidence, perspective and freedom than she had a decade ago.
