Actress Lakshmi Manchu has opened up on the offer of director SS Rajamouli's Baahubali and revealed the reason for rejecting the role of Shivagami, played by Ramya Krishnan in the movie.
Lakshmi Manchu made her debut as a villain with Anaganaga Oka Dheerudu. The makers of Baahubali were impressed with her performance and they first approached her for the role of Shivagami. But she turned down the offer as she thought that the role was too old to play for her age. Later, they offered the role to Sridevi and Tabu, who also declined to play it due some unknown reasons.
Lakshmi Manchu was talking to comedy actor Ali on his hit talk show on ETV, when she spilled the beans on rejecting the role in Baahubali. The actress admitted that she said no to the offer and she did not regret rejecting the offer.
"It was Prakash Kovelamudi who spoke to me about playing this role and I spoke to Rajamouli as well. The only thought that was running through my mind was, How can I play the role of Prabhas and Rana's mother? I mean, just look at him! (laughs) So, I just said 'no' to the film and I have absolutely no regrets for doing that," a movie portal quoted Lakshmi Manchu as saying on Ali's talk show.
The actress said that she would not accept the role, even if she was allowed to those old days "You have to understanding something – I said no to 'Shivagami', not Baahubali. I would have loved to dub for that role, if Rajamouli wanted me to. But that's alright. I loved the film and I'm happy that it did so well," she added.
Sivagami takes care of Amarendra Bahubali after the death of his mother and father and brings him up with her own son Bhallala Deva. She fights against all odds to save him. But Bhallala Deva plays tricks and becomes the king of Mahishmati kingdom. Ramya Krishnan, who has played the role, has several accolades for her performance in Baahubali: The Beginning.
