"Shivaji changed my life completely. It did give me a lot of respect. It did open a lot of doors for me. Deepa Mehta saw me in 'Shivaji' and took me for 'Cooking With Stella' and again in 'Midnight's Children'. A lot of Hindi movie directors approached me after 'Shivaji', " Shriya Saran, 29, told.
The 2007 movie that had matinee idol Rajinikanth in the title role was one of the top earners of the year.
Though she has made it big in southern cinema, Shriya is still struggling for name and fame in Bollywood and her last Hindi release was 2009 movie "Ek: The Power of One".
After a three-year break, she will be seen in a Hindi movie titled "Gali Gali Shor Hai" which she said "is a political satire. It's not that we are slapping the system. It's just that we are trying to bring a change."
Shriya has teamed up with Mugdha Godse and Akshaye Khanna in "Gali Gali Shor Hai", which is hitting screens Feb 3.
"Don't know whether it's a comeback or a long gap, but when I am doing a Telugu film people often ask me, 'Why aren't you doing Tamil films? When I am doing a Tamil film, they ask me why aren't you doing Hindi films. It was never a conscious effort. I would like to do Hindi films as I am comfortable talking in Hindi, " she said.
Not only Hindi, she speaks other languages effortlessly.
"Hindi comes naturally to me because it's my mother tongue. Of course, even English! Telugu I have learnt and it is my third language. I have also learnt Tamil but Malayalam is difficult."
She may be working with people from different culture, background and languages, but the actress feels there is no cultural difference when it comes to work."Language changes with people, language changes with the sense of humour. The way stories are told changes. The story said in Telugu will be different, Malayalam will be different and Hindi will be different. But the work culture doesn't really depend on the industry; it depends on the director you work with. It depends on the people working on the film, " Shriya stated.
She would love to do more and more films, but remakes do not excite her so much.
"I don't enjoy remakes so much. I mean I am not sure whether I would be interested in remaking my own film. Sometimes when story is changed and done well, then it's fantastic like 'Ghajini' and 'Bodyguard'. 'Dabangg' and '3 Idiots' have been remade in Tamil. Story line should be changed in remakes, " she said.
