As an effervescent Reenu Mathew walks into the lobby clad in a beige salwar, she seems to be glowing. With long strides exuding confidence and happiness, she plonks on to a nearby chair. And of course, she has every reason to be happy. Emmanuel, her debut movie where she paired opposite Mammootty, is garnering some good reviews.
Going by her onscreen avatar Annie - all wrapped in cotton saris and sans makeup - one would find it hard to recognise her. I tell her frankly that I don’t make out her like this way. She bursts into a laughter and says: “Nobody does. I had to look like a simple housewife in the movie. People who saw me in the flick said I must have taken some tips from my mother. But, I take it in a positive note that the audience must have found my act convincing.”
Now that the movie has been critically and commercially acclaimed, an upbeat Reenu says that her happiness is mainly because “I didn’t let down Lal Jose sir”. “He offered me the role without even conducting a screen test. Later, I asked him why he didn’t care for an audition. He said that my mannerism went along with that of Annie and so he didn’t feel the need for an audition. This really boosted my confidence,” she adds.
Reenu was a content airhostess with Emirates until movies beckoned her. “I knew Lal Jose sir long back. He had offered me the lead role in Pattalam. But, I couldn’t take that up as I had just started my job then,” says Reenu
And, how was working with Lal Jose and his team in Emmanuel? “Oh! I still get jittery about working with Mammootty sir. His mere presence would make me nervous and I would mess up my dialogues. I took almost two days to get normal,” says Reenu.
Her only regret is that she couldn’t share time with the crew. “I had just 20 days leave. So, I couldn’t spend time with the crew. And, I had to shoot the difficult sequence in the beginning so I was focused,” says Reenu.
Reenu says so far she hasn’t received any negative response. “I am happy that people have accepted my work,” says Reenu who claims to have done no homework for the role. “Look, Annie is somebody you see around you. We all must have met hundreds of Annies in our households. She is one anybody can empathise with,” says Reenu.
It seems like the industry has already accepted her with offers pouring in. “I have done my second project Anju Sundarikal directed by Amal Neerad. This movie is a special one. It really brought out the ‘actor’ in me. It portrays the various shades of a woman,” says Reenu. She adds that she was offered the lead opposite Jayaram in Bharya Atra Pora but couldn’t take it as she had to report for job.
Ironically, Reenu is yet to quit her job. Is she scared that movies may not be her cup of tea? “Not actually, I have several offers. But, you see it is not time to quit. Let’s wait for some more time,” says Reenu.
