When director Vinod Mankara approached Bhama with the script of ‘Ottamanandaram’, she found herself in a pickle. On one part, she was happy to play something substantive, but on the other side, the prospect of getting under the skin of Kala, a playful 14-year-old, was “a real test” for her.
As the movie is set to hit the marquee this Friday, Bhama thinks “Ottamandaram” has helped put the ‘act’ in the “actress” that she has grown into. “I have known Vinod Mankara for a long time. So, when he came to me with the character, I was not convinced if I could do justice to do the role of a teenager. Going back in age seemed like a huge challenge. I had demanded that the director and writer should back me up,” says Bhama.
Bhama plays Kala, a teenager whose world suddenly takes a turn for worse in ‘Ottamandaram’, a story inspired by a real life incident that happened in Andhra Pradesh where a 14-year old girl was forced to marry her brother-in-law after her sister fails to conceive an offspring.
“Kala’s life is a roller-coaster ride. She is a girl who sees life in all its beauty and colour. After loosing her parents at an early age, her life revolves around her sister, brother-in-law and grandparents. But, she suddenly finds herself at the receiving end of fate when she was forced to marry her brother-in-law. Before she knows, she becomes a mother. And, playing a character where one needs to emote a wide range of expressions is a challenge in itself,” says Bhama, who burst into the scene playing a demure character in Lohitadas’’ Nivedhyam’.
The actor, who went on a sabbatical from Malayalam, says Kala is a performance-oriented role.
“This is not just about screen space. The entire plot revolves around the character. Which actor wouldn’t want to play something like this?” says Bhama.
Her determination to make Kala as realistic as possible prompted Bhama to push the boundaries.
“I got rid of everything in me that was sophisticated or suave. Kala is someone who lives on the border of Tamil Nadu and her skin should be brown. So, I got myself tanned and oiled and curled my hair. She is an ordinary girl and the audience should be convinced of her girl-next-door aura or else the character will fall flat,” says Bhama who recently underwent a stylish makeover.
Though she had two releases recently - ‘Mathai Kuzhappakaranalla’ and ‘100 degree Celsius’ - Bhama is in no hurry to “get busy”.
“I am not being very selective but I definitely want to do something where I get to act. I am not looking out for movies where my role is a mere prop for the hero. That’s why I jump on roles like Kala in ‘Ottamandaram”. Its not really about doing back to back movies, but doing something where you really can test yourself,” says Bhama.
She has just wrapped up ‘Arjuna’, a Kannada flick directed by P C Shekhar. Though a popular name in Kannada, Bhama hasn’t committed anything new.
“Let’s see. Right now, I am on a break. I am having two releases and listening to scripts,” says Bhama.