Gouri Priya is not an average actress. As a multitalented person, she has enough wisdom to forge her own path. The lead actress in ‘Mail’ has a spontaneous approach towards life. She finds inspiration all around her and grabs opportunities with confidence. With every step, she is learning the various nuances of the Film Industry, adapting to it fluidly. She is willing to put in the hard work to find success and happiness. She may wear many hats, be it acting, singing or modelling, but she plans to give her all for any role, be it in films or in life. Gouri Priya eagerly awaits the many miles ahead, excited for the various experiences and outcomes. Already a recipient of many laurels, audiences can expect her to give entertainment with substance. Read on to know more about her experiences so far and plans for the future.
Selfless family
Gouri Priya, named by her family as Sri Gouri Priya, is also called by the nickname GP. Father Srinivas Reddy and mother Vasundhara raised her in Hyderabad. She was born on 13th November 1998 in the city and is a true Hyderabadi. As the only daughter, she was part of a charming little family.
Dad is a consultant trainer in Metlife India Insurance, while mom is a homemaker. They have taken a progressive and hands on approach towards their daughter, which created a comfort zone where she never feared them throughout her life. She has immense respect for them and communicates openly about her issues without hesitation.
Since childhood Gouri Priya was a pampered child. Her grandparents and parents showered plenty of attention on her. Since she was the only kid, she was amusingly expected to be the Jack of all trades. She was encouraged to learn singing, dancing, Abacus and several other skills. Hence, she had a busy childhood absorbing everything around her. Her average day was usually packed.
Gouri Priya considers her upbringing really good, having contributed to many memorable moments. For any program or competition, she was always accompanied and taken care of by family as a priority. They selflessly put her before themselves. She owes any success she finds equally to her family’s as well as her own hard work. She reveals with a chuckle that she gives them half the credit, because she had done her part too.
Well rounded education
Gouri Priya’s schooling was from St. Ann’s High School, Secunderabad. Intermediate was completed from St. Francis Junior College for Girls and Degree in Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) from St. Francis, Begumpet. She is currently pursuing Post Graduation in Digital Marketing and Communications online, due to the prevalent Covid situation. Her education and teachers have impacted her massively because she turned out to be a confident individual. While education has the maximum impact, other activities outside formal learning also contributed to her personality.
She was undoubtedly a part of all competitions in school from drama, singing and dancing to sports and elocution. She was a part of many programs in schools even before she was self aware. The process resulted in her having zero stage fear. She might feel a little nervous in order to give her best shot and without mistakes, but there was never any fear that pulled her back.
She is still in touch with her teachers and considers them an inspiration. “They used to help me a lot during my programs and missed classes. They encouraged me and believed that I could maintain balance between education and whatever I was doing outside,” she says.
Significant school memory
Gouri Priya has a large collection of great memories from the past. However, one has stood out. It was the day when she was elected as her House Captain in 10th Standard.
It was part of the school elections to find the Head Girl and House Captains, where teachers nominate eligible students. The house members then take part in voting to select their favourite. When she stood for her house, Gouri Priya had a very exciting and close voting process. It was a competition between her and another girl, the result of which was not obvious at any point. Every vote counted and after a tense fight, Gouri Priya won by just one vote. She was then the Shamrocks Captain for her school, which was very memorable.
Friendship means the world
Gouri Priya has learnt things the hard way in life. Her personal experiences ensure she knows how to tackle situations in case they repeat. Friends come and go in life, she philosophizes. Even supposed best friends don’t turn out to be as expected. This is extremely heartbreaking because the actress is someone who considers friends more than life itself.
She just has a couple of very close friends who are with her no matter what. Krithika is her first ever school friend who is a big part of her life. Nainika, also a school friend, is another important person. Beyond this, she met her friends Koushik and Keerthan through mutual friends. She considers this small group a big influence in her life, giving her advice and emotional support.
Practical skills count more than training
Gouri Priya never took classes or any special training for acting. She feels she acts with her instinct, thinking what she would do in the same situation. She is, however, a trained Carnatic singer.
According to her, one quality is not enough to make it in life. We have to make sure that we have a combination of qualities. “You can be an amazing actor, but you can lack knowledge in selecting the right scripts,” she observes. Apart from this, there are also necessary behind the scenes skills like how to talk, make conversation, how to say yes and no and how to tackle a particular situation.
She says that one needs to be aware of such qualities, which one learns on their own. “If I have to put all of them together and give a word, I would say adaptability. You need to adapt to every situation in life and act accordingly. Only then we would have a relevant outcome,” she notes.
Growing through every achievement
For Gouri Priya, many incidents helped her in her path so far. All the competitions she took part in, in school, helped her become the person she is today. It was through these that she built confidence and didn’t develop stage fear. She learnt how leadership works when she became Captain of her house, how it is difficult, important and crucial while handling a group.
Winning some of her competitions prepared her for the next phase of life. She was a part of Bol Baby Bol seasons 2 and 3. Gouri Priya was a finalist both times. Winning Miss Hyderabad helped her move ahead in a different direction.
“I think every event in your life will help you to move ahead in some or the other way, but moving forward or backward lies in our hands. No matter what I want to move forward, so I take all the positivity and move forward,” she voices.
Hobbies that give happiness
Gouri Priya insists that she loves cooking. She finds enthusiasm in good food and enjoys the process of cooking. “You’re creating something. You just have a few things and you add everything in combinations, bringing out the best from them,” she says passionately.
She likes the entire process right from washing the vegetables to garnishing the dish and eating the first spoon. If someone tastes her cooking and complements her, she feels she is on cloud 9.
She also loves painting, though she isn’t trained for it. She watches Youtube/Instagram videos and has collected a set of colors, brushes and papers. She considers it a good pastime and reveals she likes the slow process of it.
Life Mantra
Gouri Priya did not plan on becoming who she is today. This is how she prefers to keep it because she doesn’t like to plan and become confined. She strongly considers life very uncertain and that if we insist on a plan to work, it will surely not work. Planning everyday life might be fine, but not the other things. She prefers to take a step first and assess it accordingly.
Apart from enjoying acting, she is pursuing her PG. She additionally has an immense liking and attraction for marketing and finds the subject interesting. Gouri Priya feels every challenge that she gets in this space is creative. It is new everyday. If not an actor, she would proudly work in marketing in the role of a brand manager or marketing manager.
Struggles and inspirations
Gouri Priya agrees that she hasn’t faced much in the industry as she just took her first steps. Still, she experienced a few random incidents in terms of treatment, the way people talk to her and how they took her for granted. Such things saddened her, but she is grateful that she had personally not faced any struggle.
For her, everyone who strives to be a better person everyday with whatever they are doing is considered a role model. “I can’t take a few popular names and say I will be like them. I just can’t confine myself to them. I look for inspiration, motivation in everything, right from the cooking process,” she says. “If you want to enjoy something, you have to work for it and do it by yourself.”
Making her presence in the Industry
The first opportunity that Gouri Priya got in the Telugu Film Industry was Nirmala Convent. She was noticed on Bol Baby Bol and taken in. She was very young and considered it a fun thing to do. There were also other contestants from the competition.
All of them wore uniforms and went to the shoot, where it felt like they were back in school. They stayed for 15-20 days in Nainital, which was pleasant and fun. It counts as her first acting experience.
She has now completed around 4-5 movies, the best of which is the film ‘Mail.’ She played the female lead for the first time in Mail and feels the character is very close to her heart. The movie and performance was well appreciated by the audience, making it special.
“I don’t know if I’m successful yet and I don’t accept that I’m successful because it is a very very long way out there. I am still trying out my chances. But, just try and fail until something works for you, that will lead you to places,” she says. She never thought that she would become an actress before acting, having tried other things in life. “Some work out, some don’t, some that are never supposed to work out will happen. So, nobody can define success in a sentence. It is different for everyone and I am trying to discover mine, taking it slow, step by step, day by day.”
Steps in the right direction
Gouri Priya used to learn singing parallelly with education. She is the kind of person who goes with the flow and grabs every opportunity that comes her way. If she feels she is confident that an opportunity will work out and that she can manage it, she will try and take that up because doing different things in life gives her experiences.
She likes to have a variety of experiences as doing a single thing might lead to regrets or what ifs. If she wants to do something, she will definitely go ahead and that’s how her singing and Miss Hyderabad journey started. That was how her acting started as well. “Call it luck, hard work or blessings, it is working out for me. I am giving it my 100%. Will it work out at the same pace in the future or will it work even better or not, I do not know. I am waiting to know how this takes me forward,” she shares. Presently Gouri Priya is happy with the roles she is getting, while pursuing PG.
Awards and recognition
A few esteemed organizations have recognised her work. She was awarded the Delhi Telugu Academy’s Ugadi Puraskaram and Business Mint’s nationwide Young Achiever of the year 2019. She was crowned Miss Hyderabad, was a Bol Baby Bol finalist and the Radio City Super Singer season 9 Winner.
Upcoming Projects
Currently, Gouri Priya has 2 ongoing projects in hand. Simultaneously, she is listening to many scripts. She plans on taking decisions without haste considering the Pandemic.