New Delhi-based Surabhi, who is debuting in Ivan Vera Madhiri ((IVM), produced by Thirrupathy Brothers and UTV Motion Pictures, couldn’t have asked for more. “It was my dream to become an actor. But I never imagined such a wonderful launch — with such big banners, a successful hero like Vikram Prabhu and a hit director like M Saravanan of Engeyum Eppodhum fame,” says Surabhi during a chat with CE.
The actor, who pursued a bachelors degree in Fine Arts from the Delhi College of Arts, even took an acting course in order to prepare herself for a career in films. “I underwent a workshop by Barrie John and Manoj Bajpai at the Imago Acting School, even as I did some modelling. It was one such modelling assignment that led me to the South,” recalls Surbhi. She attended the audition of IVM in Chennai and discloses, “I had to recite pages of dialogues in Tamil. They liked my lip sync and felt that I was suitable for the South Indian look they had in mind for the character.”
However, she attended month -long rehearsals and workshop conducted for her by Saravanan. The results were heartening for her. “On the first day of shoot, I had a scene at the police station with the hero. I was thrilled when the director complimented me when I gave my shot in one take. Saravanan gave me a high five and said ‘You’ve become an actor now!’” she says. The challenging moments were when she had to do running scenes while handling a baby and ride a scooty with the perfect timing that was needed for the shot.
Surabhi plays Malini, a homely sweet college girl, who is close to her family, much like she is in real life. About Vikram Prabhu, she says, “He helped me a lot with the dialogues. He’s very down-to-earth. But he’s also a prankster and would keep us in splits with his jokes.”
One of the highlights for her during this project, was meeting A R Murugadoss, who had produced Saravanan’s debut film. “I met him during the dialogue rehearsal workshop. He gave me tips on how to pick up my Tamil by making more friends here and by speaking the language often. I told him ‘Sir, when are you making Ghajini 2? I hope you’ll cast me in it!’” she said with a smile.