EXCLUSIVE: Priyamani Raj opens up on why Ateet is extra special, The Family Man season 2 & future projects

Digital streaming platform Zee 5 has been on a roll since India went into lockdown mode. The streaming giant has been dishing out brand new content almost every week and this week it's a suspense thriller. Directed by Tanuj Bhramar, Zee5's film Ateet dropped on Tuesday after its trailer created a whole lot of noise on YouTube. The film stars Priyamani Raj, Sanjay Suri and Rajeev Khandelwal in leading roles. Pinkvilla got in touch with actress Priyamani Raj to know about her experience of working on Ateet, shooting with her co-stars and what lies ahead. 

For the unversed, Ateet revolves around an Army family who are haunted by the past after Captain Ateet Rana returns from the dead. Speaking about her character in the film, Priyamani said, "I have done quite a few thrillers down south. But for the Hindi audiences, Ateet is my first suspense thriller project. The character's name is Janhvi and she is a mother, daughter of an Army officer and a wife to an Army man. The character is about how she confronts her past when it comes back to haunt her. It's a dilemma one faces when they are made to choose between their present and the past." 

However, she adds that it's not your regular horror flick with eerie music and characters haunting you with loud screams. "Ateet is the sort of suspense thriller that pulls you in slowly. It's unlike the one's we have seen so far in the horror genre. It's not in your face. The film's suspense is handled very much like the supernatural shows you come across in Hollywood. It is played subtly throughout the film and you get invested in the characters slowly and steadily. You may think somebody, someone may pop out of somewhere but that is not the case here. It will definitely scare you but will also keep you hooked throughout."

This was Priyamani's first project with co-stars Sanjay Suri and Rajeev Khandelwal and the actress said that it indeed was a fun experience. "It was fantastic. I had such a great time shooting with Sanjay and Rajeev. Both of them are different actors. They both bring their own perspective to the characters in the film. Sanjay is more fun and he used to crack a lot of jokes on set. Whereas, Rajeev is fun but he is also the more focused one. He is sort of a perfectionist always seeking out how he wants to portray his role." 

Apart from being her first Hindi thriller project, Ateet also holds a special place for Priyamani. She said, "Ateet is pretty special for me because I did this movie just after I got married. The whole shoot was pretty special for me. It was more like a young unit working together, we just had a lot of fun while shooting. All the actors involved were also great fun to work with." 

Just last year, the actress was also seen in the hugely popular web series The Family Man. Starring Manoj Bajpayee, the series ended on a cliff hanger. When asked about what we can expect from season 2 of The Family Man, Priyamani said, "It's definitely going to be a notch higher than season one. It is something to watch out for.. I can definitely say that. It will come out probably by October 2020 since the post production work is happening right now." 

The actress added that before the lockdown came into effect, her hands were full with projects. "I had 2 Telugu projects on hand. I was shooting for a Telugu reality show and was supposed to start a Malayalam reality show soon. But with the lockdown, there's absolutely nothing to do. So once we are back on track my schedule will be chock-a-block." Until then, Priyamani is enjoying her fix of Turkish and Norwegian shows.