Kajal Aggarwal had an eventful 2019 with three big releases -- and her wax statue getting erected at Madame Tussauds, Singapore marking the beginning of the year 2020. The rising star became the only South Indian actress to have made it to Madame Tussauds when she joined the likes of Prabhas and Mahesh Babu.
The supreme bundle of talent that she is, Kajal spoke with IndiaTVNews.com, and said she was super stoked to have made a place at Madame Tussauds, Singapore.
"I am extremely happy. I think this will take a while to sink in," Kajal said, "the recognition and appreciation that I have received is overwhelming. I am really grateful."
This year Madame Tussauds, Singapore has partnered up with the International Film Acadamy Awards (IIFA) again to secure new content for Indian cinema -- especially for South Indian cinema whose curve has seen an exponential rise in recent years.
"South Indian cinema has always been at par with Bollywood. The only thing that has made the sole difference is the visibility. People are now watching it more. There are OTT platforms which are telecasting South Indian movies. And people are duly watching them. Cable TV is also following suit. So the content has always been there. Only the visibility has increased," Kajal said, explaining what exactly has changed for the South Indian cinema.
Talking of OTT platforms, Kajal is slated to make her debut on the platform with a web series. "I just shot for a web series called Life Telecast. It will be telecast on an OTT platform in mid-February," she said.
Apart from the web series, Kajal's collaboration with South superstar Kamal Haasan -- 'Indian 2' -- has often made headlines. She is said to be playing an 85-year-old woman.
"The character's graph is covered over 20 years. Playing an 85-year old is a part. It's quite different from everything that I have done till now. I am very excited about it," she said.
Kajal added, "I am also doing 'Mumbai Saga', a Hindi feature."
Kajal had also made headlines when she posted a closeup picture of herself without any makeup on, last year.
"People can’t discover themselves anymore. Perhaps because we live in a world crazed by physical attraction or because social media has swallowed up our self esteem in whom and what it glorifies. Billions of rupees are spent on cosmetics and beauty products that promise you the prefect body. Narcissism seems to exist everywhere. Between those lines, we try to join the crowd or feel left out. Yet the only way we can truly be happy is when we start accepting who we are rather than defining or carving a different image for ourselves. Although makeup beautifies our outer persona, does it build our character and define who we are? True beauty lies, in accepting ourselves for how lovely we are," she had captioned the picture.
"I wanted to bust the myth about beauty. It actually is skin deep, and whatever people see of us on television is artificial," Kajal told IndiaTVNews.com.
Kajal Aggarwal termed her journey in Indian cinema as "adventurous", adding she still has "a long way to go."
"I want to do meaningful cinema -- one that can create an impact," she added.
So what's the one role she has always dreamt of doing?
"An action flick where the narrative entirely centres on me," Kajal said.
'Singham' with a role reversal?
"Yeah, absolutely," she nodded in agreement.
'Indian 2' went on floors on February 8.