A blossoming talent
Director Midhun Manuel Thomas felt tense. Child actor Sara Arjun had just returned, along with her mother, to the set of the Mollywood film, Ann Maria Kalippilaanu, at Thrissur, in March, after a visit to the doctor. “He had confirmed that Sara was in the early stages of chicken pox,” says Midhun. “But such was Sara’s commitment that she took tablets, put on make-up, and was ready for the next scene, although I could see that she was weak.”
The struggles were well worth it. Ann Maria Kalippilaanu has received the thumbs-up from critics and the audience, and is on its way to becoming a hit. And one of the primary reasons is Sara, who plays an 11-year-old girl to a doctor couple, Roy (Saiju Kurup) and Teresa (Leona Lishoy). But there is tension between the two, because Roy is working in the war zone in Syria, while Teresa wants him back. Ann Maria, as an only child, also misses him.
It is the acting of Sara that impresses the most. But Midhun was not surprised. “She has been acting in advertising
films from the age of two,” he says. “Before Sara came to act in my film, she acted in Jazbaa with Aishwarya Rai. I had seen her in Tamil film Deiva Thirumagal (2011). She is 11 years old, but has an experience of nine years.”
Mumbai-based Sara too was well prepared. “There were 81 scenes with me. At my home, I prepared for a month, with the help of a Malayalam teacher. I knew all the dialogues in every scene. I knew what was happening before my scene and after,” she says.
Midhun says Sara was adept at keeping emotional continuity from one scene to another. “It was amazing to see,”he says.
Despite her smartness, it is her father Raj Arjun, a Bollywood actor as well as a theatre artiste, who looks after Sara’s career. For Ann Maria, Midhun first narrated the story to Raj, who liked it and gave assent.
A happy Midhun says, “Sara has been trained to be a professional. If she remains in the industry, she will become a fine actress one day.”