The glamorous Trisha gained instant stardom in Telugu cinema with the blockbuster "Varsham". But she kept refusing offers until M.S. Raju signed her again for "Nuvvu Vasthanante Ne Vadantana".

Despite the disastrous "Mounam Pesiyadu", Trisha is now vying for the top slot in Tamil cinema after the smash hits "Samy" and "Gilli".

"I signed both these films while I was shooting for 'Varsham'," she told IANS.

"If I come across an inspiring role in a Telugu film I would just grab it," said the Keralite Brahmin who thought of quitting films after two years of strenuous work.

The actress has filed a case against those responsible for attributing to her the doctored and obscene photographs that were put out on the Internet recently.

Q: Despite getting offers after "Varsham" you are doing a Telugu film after a big gap. Why is that?

A: After "Varsham", I wanted to do an exciting role. So I refused a few offers. I also became busy with Tamil films. I signed both "Samy" and "Gilli" while shooting for "Varsham" and both turned out to be huge hits. I learnt a lot about acting while working with Vikram. Vijay too became a good friend later.

After being drenched in the rain for eight days to shoot a song in "Varsham", I began to hate water. I hated it for quite a long time. I even discontinued my favourite hobby - swimming. Our hard work, however, ended up as a masterpiece.

Q: You have again teamed up with M.S. Raju. How do you describe "Nuvvu Vasthanante Ne Vadantana"?

A: It was great working with Raju in "Varsham" and he has offered me a meaty role. I play a village girl who falls in love with a non-resident Indian. It has great music and is directed by Prabhu Deva. It is an all-round movie and sure to be a winner.

Q: What is happening in your Tamil film career?

A: After Priyadarshan's "Lesa Lesa", I was flooded with offers. I signed four films. But my first release turned out to be "Mounam Pesiyadu", which unfortunately failed to impress. The Tamil media wrote me off, but I overlooked their comments.

"Samy" re-launched me in a big way. I followed it up with another run-away hit "Gilli" and silenced my detractors. Even after three years, people call me by my character's name in "Samy".

But the burden of stardom was too much for me. I had no time for myself. I was shooting 30 days in a month. Initially I was carried away by the public adulation but later I got scared. I even thought of quitting acting. But after a good break, I started enjoying my work again.

Q: Recently you were in news for all the wrong reasons. How did you cope with it?

A: I was really disturbed by the false reports. A journalist friend told me that a website was carrying morphed photographs showing me in an obscene way. I was petrified. Even TV channels carried the shots and I filed a case against them.

Earlier I was linked with my co-stars Vikram and later with Vijay but we all laughed it off.

I was hurt when the media tore my family apart because without their constant encouragement, I wouldn't have been what I am today. But I have decided to ignore rumours and concentrate on my work.