RIDING HIGH
Priyanka is still trying to come to terms with her fairytale achievement. “No, I didn’t expect anything though I was aware of the potential of Sahira, my character in Vilapangalkkappuram,” she says. In the film she plays a rape victim who flees from her home town, orphaned and traumatised, after the Gujarat riots. “The film is about her plight. She goes to Kerala, her father’s state, only to realise that victimisation of woman is universal. Kerala turns out to be no safe haven as she faces exploitation of a different sort.” Priyanka says interacting with the original riot victims was the most painful experience while filming. “I could feel the nightmare in their eyes. I was shattered by the shocking accounts of terror. They are a pack of anguished women who live with bleeding hearts, waiting for justice that has evaded them for a long time,” says the actress.
She says her powerhouse performance in the film is the outcome of constant prodding by the director. “I think it’s an honour to act in a T V Chandran film even if it’s for a single scene. He is a master filmmaker who created many formidable female characters in Malayalam cinema. It is a dream come true for any actress to be his leading lady.” Priyanka believes she was offered the role because of her performance in the Tamil film Veyil. “Veyil was one great thing that happened in my life. It’s one film that made my career.
It’s the story of Thangam, a village belle who gives away her life for her love.” She says she is equally comfortable doing Malayalam and Tamil and relocating to Kollywood was no deliberate attempt. “It was the Tamil audience who first acknowledged and accepted me. I started getting offers from Malayalam only after Veyil hit the theatres. So I am emotionally attached to both the industries,” says Priyanka who has also acted in a Kannada movie.
THE SELF-CRITIC
Two days after the State Awards Anoop Menon is a confused man. “ I don’t really remember whether I expected this or not. Actually I don’t expect things to spare myself later from the pangs of disappointment,” says the actor though he admits this was something predicted by ace filmmakers like Kamal, Siby Malayil and Sathyan Anthicaud.
He remembers while offering the role director Ranjith said the character of Ajayachandran was no less than state award material.
“He said it was up to me to make it or mar it,” But was he comfortable doing a film touted as a heroine-oriented story? “Well, when you watch the film you will realise it’s ultimately the story of Ajayachandran. It’s the story of his struggle, his rise to stardom and his forlorn fate.” Anoop says this was a film that made him realise that it’s not make-up and gray hair that mark the progress of a character. “I had to modulate my voice and streamline the language of body and mind to play Ajayachandran as he graduates from a 25-year-old struggler to the seasoned cine-god.
Anoop says just five years into the industry he is happy to have got a break now. Sometimes you have to wait for fifteen or twenty years, he says. But he feels there is yet time to fine-tune his acting credentials. “I consider myself a mediocre actor. When compared to actors like Thilakan, Nedumudi Venu and Bharat Gopi I am just a second-rate artist,” he adds. Another film Anoop cherishes is Mokshm in which he was paired opposite Bollywood diva Zeenat Aman. “The entire film was shot in Russia. It was fun to shoot in the snow-filled locales. We spent the evening taking long walks, listening to Zeenat’s old Bollywood stories,” he says.
Last year Anoop donned the role of a scriptwriter and penned the Mohanlal starrer Pakalnakshatrangal.
“But that was my second script.
My first script was for the Hindi Film Anubhav that released yesterday. The initial response is good. I was surprised when Madhur Bhandarkar called up to say it was a really good attempt for a first-timer in Hindi,” says Anoop. In the film which basically traces the whirlwind destiny of three drama school students, Anoop plays Adi, one of the three main characters who later becomes a director.
LIVING ANOTHER ERA
If there is one soul who is not hyper-excited about winning a state award it is Praveena. “I was expecting the best actress award,” she says in a heartfelt tone without any malice. “I thought it would be either me or Sukumari aunty. But I have no qualms about Priyanka getting it. She has performed well,” she adds.
Though her character in the film Swarnam won her great accolades, the film was not considered for the final round.
The original title of Adoor’s film is ‘The Climate for Crime’, though it becomes Oru Pennum Randanum in Malayalam. The film is the cinematic adaptation of four short stories by Thakazhy set against the backdrop of the Second World War, the paucity and insecurity it created. “That was a different era altogether. My father has told me a lot of stories about the 40s and 50s. He belonged to a family of landlords. One morning they found a 20-year-old girl trying to steal tapioca from our premises. She was carrying a ‘kutta’ full of tapioca and struggling to carry it out. It was through such stories that I connected with a poverty-stricken period like that,” says Praveena.
“ My earnest request to the audience is that you should not try to evaluate the film with a contemporary mindset. The film dates back to the 40s and you will find only the ambiance of that period in the film,” says the actress who fears criticism from the technosavvy generation next.
In the fourth segment of the film Pangiamma, Praveena plays the title character. She plays a 25-year-old married to 70-year-old rich man. All the stories in the film centre round the theme of crime. “The film is about people who are forced into crime due to their circumstances.
Pangiamma also commits a crime. It’s up to the audience to decide whether it is a crime or not.” Praveena says at first she was a bit stressed about shooting with Adoor who is often branded as a taskmaster. “But when the shoot began I was surprised to find the celebrated filmmaker behaving like a simple villager without any fuss. He was like a father figure to me, patiently communicating the mindscape and body language of a woman in the 40s. I think he stands at a position that is too high for anyone to reach, making him a solitary figure,” she adds.
Though Praveena returned to the silver screen after a considerable gap of seven years, she had kept in touch her audience through a couple of serials that went on to become huge hits on the small screen. “For me both cinema and serials are equally important. I want to do more performance-oriented roles with good scripts and good directors,” she says.
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