For newbie Keerthi Suresh, who is just entering Kollywood with three films on hand, films have been a part of life since childhood. Daughter of actor Menaka and producer Suresh Kumar, Keerthi is already part of Mollywood and Tollywood. But Idhu Enna Mayam (IEM) holds a special place for her. In a chat with her, CE discovers why.
“Idhu Enna Mayam will always be a cherished film. For one thing, the producers — Radhika, Sarathkumar and Listin Stephen — are like family to us. My hero is Vikram Prabhu and it’s a great feeling that my mom has acted with his dad and now the next gen kids are acting together as well. So, it’s like being part of a family on the sets,”gushes Keerthi.
Playing Maya, an urban, calm and quiet Chennai girl, it’s familiar ground for her. “My mom is Tamilian and I schooled in Chennai till class four and later after twelfth, I did fashion designing here. I can speak the language fluently.
So, when offers from Kollywood came, I took them up,” she explains. She throws more light on her role, “Maya is very close to my heart. It’s very difficult to act when the character has minimal movements and delicate layers to unfold.
Maya has influenced me a lot.” To keep the atmosphere light, her co-star Vikram Prabhu keeps pulling her leg. “We keep bugging director Vijay about who has acted better in every shot!” she says with a laugh.
The actor has bagged two more meaty roles. In Rajini Murugan, opposite Sivakarthikeyan, she plays a traditional Madurai ponnu, wearing half saris. The character is the complete opposite of Maya, and is loud and bubbly.
In Paambu Sattai directed by Shankar’s assistant Adam Das, she is paired with Bobby Simhaa. “I play a poor Chennai girl from a lower middle class strata. Each of the three roles is vastly different and I’m enjoying the versatility,” she grins.
Ask her what advice her parents gave her and she says with a laugh, “Mom told me to be punctual and treat everyone the same way. Dad told me to be disciplined and dedicated.”
As for their coming to visit her on sets she says, “I’m too shy, so I don’t let them come on the sets. And anyway, since everyone knows them in the units, I get pampered and feel very much cared for on all the sets. I look forward to a long innings here.”