Shraddha Srinath recently landed in Kerala, to shoot for Aarattu, her second Malayalam film after five years. It’s also her first film post the lockdown. She admits to feeling a little frustrated during the eight-month-long break. “It’s quite daunting for actors,” she says. “Everyone else had their work every day. A writer can write; a singer can practice.
But how would actors stay in touch with their craft? At one point, I worried about my talent slowly slipping away from me.” Aaraattu is Shraddha’s second Malayalam film after 2015’s Kohinoor, in which she had a small part. That was her acting debut as well. She adds that the process of getting back to work now feels like a complete reset.
“When I left Bengaluru, I felt as if I was going to shoot for the very first time in my life. I’m nervous, but at the same time, it feels like a good kind of energy after the long break.” Shraddha was required to take a mandatory Covid-19 test before joining the sets.
The procedure doesn’t make her anxious anymore. “I have been doing some travelling recently and testing myself very often. So it’s become routine for me now,” she laughs. She shares that director B Unnikrishnan didn’t want any compromises in terms of safety. “Every single person on the team is required to follow safety protocols. It’s like a bio-bubble.
You stick with the crew for the shoot, go home, and repeat. There is no chance of exposure to external elements.” The Vikram Vedha actor is playing an IAS officer in Aaraattu. While the Mohanlal- starrer is very much a bigbudget mass entertainer, her role in it is not without its importance. “The character I play has her own personality.
She is an upright government officer, and I’m looking forward to seeing the equation she brings to the table.” As for her future projects, Shraddha has the Tamil films, Maara (with Madhavan), Chakra (with Vishal), and a dystopian, postapocalyptic project called Kaliyugam coming up after this. On whether the report of Maara being a complete remake of the Malayalam film Charlie is true or not, Shraddha says the right word would be ‘inspired’. “You could say they are the same in spirit but different otherwise. There are some lovely changes made in the Tamil version,” she clarifies, adding that she shares some similarities with her character in the film.