Khushbu made a comeback to the Telugu film industry with the Pawan Kalyan starrer Agnyaathavaasi after a decade and is happy to have bagged the role.

In an exclusive interview to Deccan Chronicle, the actor said, “After 10 years to do a film in Telugu it had to be a special one. Agnyaathavaasi is that special one. The entire setup was very appealing and eventually rewarding. Pawan and the crew treated me like a member of their family. Trivikram had offered me films earlier. But I was not very keen then as I did not like the roles. This time he came to me and said, ‘Ma’am, you cannot say no to this.’ And I didn’t say no. How could I? He made an offer I couldn’t resist.”

The actor, who had forayed into politics, decided to stay away from doing movies 10 years ago. However, she has reconsidered her decision for meaty roles that she was offered and signed up for Agnyaathavaasi.

Khushbu was one of the most wanted heroines during her heydays in the late 1980s and in the 1990s. She shared screen space with almost all the top stars in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada film industries, and tasted phenomenal success. She had a huge fan following; she is also the only heroine for whom a temple was built in Tamil Nadu.

Agnyaathavaasi, which released on January 10, was directed by Trivikram Srinivas and starred Pawan Kalyan and Keerthy Suresh in the lead roles. The film also featured Boman Irani, Adhi Pinisetty, Anu Emmanuel and Khushbu in pivotal roles.

Agnyaathavaasi happens to be music composer Anirudh’s debut venture in Tollywood. V Manikandan cranked the camera and the film was bankrolled by S Radhakrishna under his banner Haarika & Haasini Creations.

Even though the film has received mixed reviews, Agnyaathavaasi has beaten the records of Katamarayudu and Sardaar Gabbar Singh, which minted Rs 28.10 crore gross and Rs 26.90 crore gross respectively at the AP/T box office on their first day.

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