THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the strains of a vibrant folk song started wafting in the air, Surabhi Lakshmi stood beaming in the middle of a happy crowd. She was in the city to participate in Suhrithinodoppam, a programme organised by Manaveeyam Theruvoorakootam to honour the national-award-winning actress.
In front of the gathering she joined the singers, shaking a leg with the peppy rhythm. “Surabhi is not a stranger to the art fraternity in the city. While living here as part of a theatre group she was an active participant in the programmes here,” said Krishnan Balakrishnan, one of the coordinators of the event.
The actress shared moments from her stint in the city along some interesting anecdotes, much to the amusement of the listeners.
“While working with Abhinaya Theatre we used to take a break from rehearsals every Sunday to come to Manaveeyam. The energy we derived from the singing, dancing and performing sessions was immense. I feel great coming back here,” said Surabhi.
Raghoothaman remembered the time she was working with his troupe, impressing everyone with her outstanding talent. “She is an exceptional actress, who will give you much beyond your expectation on stage,” he said. The actress added that she shares a special bond with the city and its people.
“I still remember the time I was working in the play Irakalodu Mathramalla Samsarikkendathu. At that time I didn’t know much Tamil and I was supposed to talk in a Tamil-Malayalam mix. Again I had to learn Trivandrum slang for a film and it was my friends here who helped me with that,” said Surabhi.
Shylaja, her co-artist at Abhinaya, was all praises for the actress as she remembered the way Surabhi encouraged newbies. “Theatre is a group activity where performance of each actor contributes to the totality. So we used to encourage and promote each other.
Associating with a bunch of wonderful artists here has always helped me grow as an actor,” responded Surabhi.
Rony, one of the artists involved in the art works at Manveeyam, handed over a portrait of the actress to her. “I look so pretty in this, you are making me arrogant,” she laughed. She happily posed for selfies with fans and requested all of them to watch her film when it releases.
“The film was completed after a lot of struggles and I wish I could see the same crowd in theatres also,” she said.