Remember the first time you watched talented housewives battle it out on a reality show on television? If yes, you’ll not wonder who Sandhya Ramesh is. A finalist of the first season of ‘Vanitharathnam’ on Amrita TV, Sandhya is now making her presence felt in Mollywood.
Her recent film, Leo Thaddeus’ ‘Payyans’ with Jayasurya in the lead, has been fetching her good reviews. “I played the protagonist in Leo’s short film ‘Nurunguvettangal’ and that was what paved the way to doing an important role in ‘Payyans’,” says Sandhya, who has always been crazy about acting. After her run on the reality show, offers came pouring from the ad world. Sandhya has done about 30 ad films till date, including those of Giripai Jewellery, Lunar footwear, Date Rich and Dhathri. A handful of short films followed before she stepped into Mollywood in the role of a nun in Kamal’s Dileep-starrer ‘Aagathan.’ “I’ve just completed director Shyama Prasad’s assistant Ramya’s short film ‘Silence.’ Work will commence soon on Amrita TV’s tele-film ‘Kalthaamara.’”
She is thankful for the platform the reality show offered her. “We are late bloomers alright. But better late than never! I cannot probably imagine myself being offered the role of a teenager running around trees! The show gave us housewives a big opening to a world we never thought we’ll ever be in. And I am happy that I am one among the finalists who have taken ourselves forward through ads, short films and films over the years. Both Reena Basheer (‘In Harihar Nagar’) and Reena Machan (‘Katha Parayumbol’) are also dabbling in films every now and then,” she says.
Sandhya is happy with the kind of roles she has been getting. “I play the mother of a teenager in ‘Payyans.’ And I decided to do the role because I was convinced that it hadgood scope for performance. I love to do roles that give me space to perform.” Sandhya says she wouldn’t have come this far but for the unflinching support from her family. Her husband, an engineer with the Cochin Refinery, is her pillar of strength, she says. “And it’s only because of the support from my family that I’ve been able to carry forward my passion for acting.”
parvathynair@expressbuzz.com