At first glance, Srividhya Aravamuthan comes across as a mature 25-year-old, knowing her way around in a demure sari or a thavani , but when you engage her in a conversation, the childlike enthusiasm catches you off-guard and you realise you are talking to a teenager.
Yes indeed, Aravamuthan is 18 years old and in her career spanning 10 years, she has been the good wife, the naughty pavadai -clad sister and the vivacious, yet conservative mistress.
Be it the short-tempered, juvenile Aarthi in Kolangal or the mature, practical housewife in Meghala , the teenager performs all her roles with equal aplomb. Aravamuthan says she would do any character as long as it is ‘homely’.
“That is what I am comfortable with,” she declares, when I quiz her about her choice.
Starting out as a child artiste in Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen (she was the younger version of Roja), Aravamuthan also played small roles in Bala , Nanda and Budget Padmanabhan . Her big breaks came when she played Jyotika’s friend in Sillunu Oru Kaadhal and Sneha’s sister in Ennavaley .
Her small screen career, however, began with Manobala’s Naan Yaar and AVM’s Oru Pennin Kadhai .
“I was in fifth grade when I did these soaps. I was the naughty sister in Oru Pennin Kadhai .” K Balachander’s Sahana , in which she played a village girl , upped her acting quotient. “I didn’t know how to wear a thavani then. And I used to be so scared of KB sir,” she reminisces.
Ask her about co-star Devayani and she laughs, “She calls me Aarthi, never uses my real name. Following her, the whole set also calls me Aarthi.” So what’s close to her heart? Pat comes the reply — her dual role in Vasantham on Sun TV, one of which is negative.
“I play a rich girl who is attracted to a married man. I try to entice him into loving me.” Isn’t this a deviation from her ‘homely’ preference, I wonder aloud. “The character is homely, but with a negative shade.
My definition of ‘homely’ is with respect to the attire. I’m conservative by nature,” she explains.
As for Engae Brahmanan on Jaya TV, Aravamuthan asks us to look forward to a twist in the serial, which concludes this month. “The husband dies,” she whispers conspiratorially.
Her dream role would be that of a police officer. “I turned one down, in fact, for a soap called Parasakth i on Vasanth TV. Blame it on my BCom exams,” she signs off.