KOCHI: The doe-eyed beauty seemed visibly tired after her late night dance practise, but was nevertheless warm and unassuming throughout the conversation. Lakshmi Gopalaswami who was in the city for a dance performance, as part of ‘Brahma 2012’ - a techno cultural fest at Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering, Kalady primarily spoke about her passion for dance, which she says overrides even acting.
“One’s attitude towards his/her passion evolves over the years. I began dancing when I was hardly eight. At that age when I played a simple padam like ‘alaipayuthe kanna..’, I concentrated more on its literary connotations. But with time, my perception of dance has changed with my experiences. Now I perform only a single item a year. I select the item with ample care, delve deep into the lyrics and brings necessary improvisations,” she says.
Lakshmi finds far more satisfaction performing on stage than acting, she tells us. “When I am dancing, I am my own master. I can choose what I want to perform and can put my own thoughts into it. Acting is different, because there I am an instrument of the director.” The danseuse adds that she especially enjoys performing in Kerala. “I am gratified by the love showered on me by the Malayali audience, especially woman who consider me as one among them.”
Lakshmi, who has judged a reality dance show, feel youngsters need diligence to excel.
“Mastery over dance can be attained only after rigorous training over several years. It needs proper assistance of gurus and it cannot happen overnight. The present generation sticks more to fusion that suits a particular show. This gives them exposure, but without being well-trained, they won’t be able to go far,” she expresses.
Though the talented actress forayed into acting as early as 2001 through her award winning performance in the movie, ‘Arayannangalude Veedu’, she has acted in less than 30 movies so far. Lakshmi who was last seen in a small role in PT Kunjimuhammad’s ‘Veeraputhran’ explains why, “In acting I have always stuck to a comfort zone since I came from a conservative background. And in the beginning I had my own inhibitions about acting. I thought the Malayalam industry being a small one, nobody would recognise me. But now since I have done enough homely roles, I would like to break away from that image.”
Out of the movies that the actress has done so far, the movie closest to her heart is ‘Thaniye’ where she played the role of a home nurse.
“Working with Nedumudi Venu in the movie was a learning experience.
I observed that he concentrates on several subtle nuances while acting.”
She also shares another anecdote, explaining how top actors here have guided her acting journey. “The song, ‘Thattam Pidichu Valikkale..’ from ‘Paradeshi’ had no background score. It was hard to act out that scene. My co-star Mohanlal suggested an idea where in the scene could be enacted properly, without manipulating the beauty of the mellifluous song.”
Lakshmi says the Malayalam industry is blessed with several phenomenal actors like KPAC Lalitha and Sukumari, and would like to follow their path of excellence.
“They all have a beautiful attitude that work is worship.”
Many wondering why this elegant actress is not hitched, Lakshmi says there isn’t any particular reason, except that she hasn’t found the right match.
For now though, she believes life is beautiful, with many things to do and achieve.