I enjoy my freedom as a producer: Telugu actor Lakshmi

Chennai: She is one of the few female producers in the country and Telugu actress-cum-producer Lakshmi Manchu takes pride in her role. She enjoys her freedom as a producer even when she admits it's a risky business.

She turned producer following the footsteps of her father, veteran actor-producer Mohan Babu.

"It's not safe to produce your own films, but I enjoy being a producer because it gives me all the freedom to make my film. As a producer I take pride in breathing life to all 24 crafts of filmmaking," Lakshmi told IANS.

"As a producer one does not merely fund a project, there are other roles to play too. From funding to distribution to censoring, everything needs to be taken care of by a producer. More importantly, when a film goes down, you go down with it as a producer," she added.

Don't you have distributors to distribute a film?

"Distributors have become choosy about films because it's an investment they are making, and therefore, expect returns. Not all films entice distributors, hence it becomes the responsibility of the producer to distribute and also find good theatrical release," she said.

Lakshmi started her career as an actress in American television series and featured in 'Las Vegas', 'Boston Legal' and 'Desperate Housewives'.

"I'm just following the footsteps of my father and everything that I have learned is from him. Even though I find acting easy and enjoy doing it, but at the same time I give due credit to all other roles I play in my life," added Lakshmi.

Apart from producing films, she has played a TV host for Telugu shows such as 'Lakshmi Talk Show', 'Prematho Mee Lakshmi' and 'Luckunte Lakshmi'.

What is the advantage of producing own films?

"For a film like 'Gundello Godari' (GG), a lot of time went into researching the subject and getting our facts right. One of biggest advantages of producing your own film is that you can spend ample time to get everything right in the product. We spent approximately two years on GG, and it was worth it," she said.

Telugu romantic-drama 'Gundello Godari', a story set against the backdrop of Godavari floods, is releasing all over Friday.

Other Telugu films produced by Lakshmi include 'Nenu Meeku Telusa', 'Jhummandi Nadam' and 'Uu Kodathara Ulikki Padathara'.