Pramila has naked, tearless eyes. Charming and forlorn, she takes love and disgrace with the same smiling nonchalance. The mysterious bar owner in Mohavalayam, a woman caught in the self-losing tricks for survival, is every actor’s dream. “It’s not necessary that you get space to perform in every film you are part of. But Pramila offered me a chance to perform and interpret through my perspective,” says Mythili about her character in the latest T V Chandran film.
From the vulnerable small-town girl to the fate-hardened ‘madam’ of a bar, Mohavalayam has two timelines showing the past and present of Pramila. Mythili says at first she was wary about playing such a strong and difficult character, “But once I entered the character, it had been a smooth ride. While playing Pramilia I enjoyed each challenge she put forward, and believe me there were many.” She says the 40-day shooting schedule had been a great learning experience, “I visited dance bars, bumped into Malayali girls serving liquor and spent time with them. I observed their faces and body language for hours to make my portrayal closest to reality.”
Mohavalayam basically zooms into Pramila’s life and her tryst with an alcoholic filmmaker played by Joy Mathew. The film, mainly shot in Bahrain, also stars Renji Panicker, Shine Tom Chacko, Sidhique, Sudeesh, Indrans, Santhosh Keezhatoor, Srinda, Gopika, Sajitha Madathil and Parvathy. “I landed on the set without knowing much about other characters. I hadn’t read the script, but was smitten by Pramila from the very day Chandran sir briefed me about her,” says Mythili about her second film with the award-winning filmmaker.
The actress says she went through a couple of deeply unsettling experiences during the shoot. “Turning into a bar dancer in front of a mob was not easy. It was not just crew members on the location and it felt weird. At that time I could completely relate to the plight of those girls, their painful life in the midst of bar lights and smoke. It’s a man’s world where women get reduced to a demeaning levels of existence,” she says.