It’s not easy to separate the reel and real for actors whose convincing performances consistently blur these boundaries. Actor Nimisha Sajayan is one of them. Be it her resilient Sreeja from Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, her nameless character in The Great Indian Kitchen, the powerful Rosaline in Malik, and the terrific Janu in Chola, Nimisha often exudes a perennial sense of tension through her roles.
Walking into the interview, it was amusing to see a rather jovial Nimisha letting her hair down and breaking the ‘image’ with a sledgehammer. Involuntarily, the first question was about being boxed into the ‘serious actor’ category. “Yes, but I must say that the characters I get, be it in Malik, The Great Indian Kitchen, or even Shakthi from Chithha, are serious roles. But how can I say no to such well-written roles?” asks Nimisha, who will be making her Tamil debut with the Siddharth starrer Chithha.
Explaining how Chithha turned out to be her Tamil debut, Nimisha says it all started with a call from director SU Arun Kumar after which she flew down to Chennai for the narration. “It was an immediate yes. Be it the character or the film, I felt it is something that has to come out in today’s times. There are some films and characters which will stay with you once you leave the cinema halls. Chithha is that,” she says. Just like how her nameless character in TGIK made scores of men squirm, Nimisha says Chithha’s script made a strong impact too. “It is not just about making someone comfortable, but the pain of watching something both relatable and cathartic. We might have read the news and forgotten. But after watching Chithha, it will stay with you for longer.”
It is interesting how a Mumbai-born Nimisha has become the representation of women from rooted parts of Kerala. Be it her nuanced cop in Nayattu, or Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum where she plays a woman moving to Kasaragod, the actor has carefully waded away from playing the urban woman she is in real life. Crediting her directors for providing the right inputs, Nimisha says, “Chittha is set in Palani and for the first two days, Arun helped me with the dos and don’ts. When I did my early projects, director Dileesh Pothan sir asked me to just observe the spaces, like to stand near the bus stop, or have tea in the local stall. He had said how observation is everything and it will help me get everything I want for the character. For the dialect in Eeda, I went to actor Ganapathi’s home in Kannur and observed the people there.”
Having collected the lived experiences of playing women of different struggles on screen, Nimisha says facing the camera makes her happiest. “Acting is a collaborative process, which includes the script, directors’ inputs, costumes, sets, co-actors, and more. I’m happiest between action and cut because you are giving life to a character. If you ask me what is exactly happening between it I can’t really put a finger on it. I am not a method actor either,” says Nimisha, who candidly admits that acting is still her hobby and not work. “You never get bored of your hobbies and for me, being in front of the camera is relaxing. I am always happy on sets, no matter what problems I have got.”
More than anything, Nimisha is clear that she will never portray a character, which can have a bad influence. “I know that even if I say no, I will enjoy doing something I say yes to later.” Beyond the work front, Nimisha is someone who has challenged the beauty standards imposed on women. Being very comfortable with the way she looks, Nimisha believes it is a sign of changing times. “I believe I’ve got some good features and it doesn’t matter if you judge me. And that is what I want to tell the girls of today’s age as well. The world around us, and social media are making us beauty-conscious. But now, audiences look at the performance, and not the way we look. I am happy that it is happening.”