Who can forget the innocent little girl from 'Drishyam,' who was burdened with holding on to the truth to save her family. Esther Anil, the little girl who donned the role of Anu, Mohanlal's younger daughter in the movie, won the hearts of Malayalis through her heart-wrenching performance. She has also won the hearts of people in Andhra Pradesh. The remake of 'Drishyam' in Telugu, 'Drushyam,' which was released just two days ago, has had a huge response, making her a sweetheart of yet another state in the country.
Sharing her experience after acting in a Telugu movie, Esther says: “It was tough in the beginning. I got help from one of the crew who translated all the Telugu dialogues into Malayalam. I was quite comfortable after the first two days.”
Still basking in the success of 'Drishyam,' Esther and her family are elated at the success received by its remake of the same name in Telugu. The film earned an aggregate of `2.75 crore in Telengana and Andhra Pradesh in just two days.
“Got to hear that the film has been running well for the past two days and I am very happy about it,” says an excited Esther.
Esther started off her career in the Malayalam film industry with the movie 'Nallavan.' She then went on to do her first movie with Mohanlal. “I first did ‘Oru Naal Varum' with Lal uncle (Mohanlal). I don't remember much of it because I was very small at that time. I fully understood the gravity of acting with senior artistes like Lal uncle only in 'Drishyam.' And the second time I was really very excited.”
Esther soon becomes very verbose about her experience with two of the most senior actors in the Indian film industry - Mohanlal and Venkatesh - and says, “Lal uncle is really good company. Throughout the movie I did not see him get angry and he mingles with everyone. It was the same with Venkatesh uncle as well. He too used to help me out a lot during the shoot. They all used to speak to each other in Telugu, but then he spoke to me in English and that made it very comfortable for me to work with them.”
Esther, a student of D Paul Public School, Kalpetta, is currently busy preparing for her standard eight internal examinations. When asked if the attitude of her friends changed towards her after she became an overnight sensation, she says, “No, the friends I have now are the ones I have had around me from the first and they are the same with me.” The young starlet also has a Facebook page which has a heavy fan-following.
About her favourite past-time, she chuckles and says, “I love watching television, I am a TV buff and sometimes I dance too.”
Esther, the second child of Anil and Manju, has an older brother Evan and a younger brother Eric. And the surprise package from this family is that her younger brother Eric too has done his fair share of movies already. Eric has donned the role as actor Mammootty's son in the movie ‘Deivathinte Swantham Cleetus.' He is also part of the new release, the Vineeth-starrer ‘Vegam,' in which he is seen as Prathap Pothan's son.
About her future projects, Ester says, “At present I am busy with my examinations. Both, Malayalam and Telugu ‘Drishyam' were shot during vacations, so it did not disturb my studies. But I will take up good offers if I get them.”