Lakshmi Manchu talks about working with her father and struggles as an actor’s daughter

In a recent interview with a national media, Lakshmi Manchu spoke about her experience of acting alongside her father, Mohan Babu, for the first time in a Telugu film titled Agni Nakshatram. The film is an action-packed thriller featuring Manchu as a tough female cop and Babu as a male vigilante. Despite the excitement of working with her father, Manchu admitted that it was not an easy experience.

The actor shared that if her father wasn’t her real-life father, she would have spoken up against his tantrums on set. She added that her father keeps saying that they aren’t paying him enough, to which she responds by saying that if she did, she wouldn’t put up with his tantrums.

Manchu also revealed that she wasn’t allowed to dream of acting alongside her father. She called the opportunity to work with him a “feet” and expressed that just being able to experience the two of them on the same screen is beyond a dream come true.

Apart from discussing her experience of working with her father, Manchu also touched on the struggles she faced as an actor’s daughter. According to her, it was condemned for her to become an actor because she was a woman belonging to a south Indian actor’s family. She also spoke about the lack of representation of actors’ daughters in the industry, saying that there are only a few actors’ daughters in the industry, including herself, Shruti Haasan, and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar.

Manchu is known for her outspoken nature and candour, which has attracted a host of detractors on social media. However, she believes that as a public figure, she has to represent the voiceless through her work. Last year, she played a lesbian in the Malayalam action thriller Monster (2022) to not only push the envelope for herself but to also lend her support to the queer community.

Lakshmi Manchu’s story highlights the struggles faced by actors’ daughters in the industry and the importance of representation. Her experience of acting with her father also sheds light on the challenges of working with a family in the industry. Despite these struggles, Manchu continues to push boundaries through her work and remains unapologetic in her pursuit of art.