CHENNAI: Calm waters never made a skilled sailor. For actor Mirnalini Ravi, who has worked alongside stars like Arya and Vishal in Enemy, Vikram in Cobra and Sasikumar in MGR Magan, a part of her yearned to get a bigger launch where the audience would recognise her work. Enter Romeo. “I earned great visibility by acting with big stars, but somewhere, I wasn’t happy at the end of the day. Over the last few years, I’ve been pondering over the question of what I have achieved as an individual. Romeo came to me at the right time and I felt like I had manifested it. This will be a moment where my work as Mirnalini will be seen,” she explains.
When Mirnalini Ravi first read the script for the Vijay Antony-starrer, directed by Vinayak Vaithianathan, she felt as though she was leafing through the pages of her own biography. “My character resonated deeply with my personal journey of stepping into the industry. The film holds a special place in my heart and stands as one of the most fulfilling roles I’ve ever undertaken.” Describing her role, she says, “This is a story of how a strong-willed woman goes to all lengths to achieve her aspirations and career objectives. She is not driven by ego or malice, but is selfish and can come across as arrogant when she pursues her passion with all her heart.”
According to Mirnalini, a character can either be a people-pleaser or go by their own rules. “It’s easy being a people pleaser, but it won’t get you anywhere. When you are standing up for what you believe in, it can come across as being arrogant, but when the audience sees what she was striving for, I believe they will understand her character better,” she shares, adding, “Most successful women are determined and arrogant. Otherwise, they can’t get their jobs done.”
For this particular role, the Cobra actor had to unlearn the acting that she already knew, along with attending training sessions to carry the character on her sleeve. “I had to attend a month-long workshop with actor Kalairani where I learned script reading, body language, and voice modulations. This was my first professional training as well as my first time dubbing for a film. I am very insecure about my voice, but both Vijay Antony and the director were particular about me using my own voice for the film.”
She had to also give a restrained performance for the role, unlike her usual expressive self. “Here, I was not even allowed to smile! My character doesn’t talk a lot also. She will emote just with her eyes, and it conveys everything. This was completely opposite to my real-life character.”
Having completed five years in the industry, from playing a cameo role as an alien in Thiagarajan Kumararaja’s Super Deluxe to now playing the female lead for a leading star, she goes by her thumb role of taking the course by the flow. “I don’t have big goals and I believe that when you are ready, opportunities will fall into place. I was not ready for the camera in my initial days. From how to wear make-up, dressing for the occasion to understanding your rights, I built my career and my confidence brick by brick,” she reflects.
At this juncture in her life, Mirnalini has made a deliberate choice to pursue roles that leave a lasting impact. “Be it a five-minute-long role or a two-hour-long role, I want to contribute meaningfully to a film,” she asserts. “I don’t want to be just an eye candy. After ‘Tum Tum’ song became a hit, I was offered roles that were centred on dance numbers, which didn’t align with my vision. Many ask me, ‘Which actor do you aspire to work with?’ I don’t have an answer to that. For me, the goal is to be part of a story that does justice to the script.”
The actor, who began her career by making TikTok and Dubsmash videos, before entering the industry, says that with social media, especially Instagram, the scope for earning has increased tremendously. “The avenues for generating income through social media have expanded drastically. Even if the opportunity to act doesn’t come by, we can earn money by collaborating with brands,” she says. However, it was the paths that she judiciously opted for that led her to her current position in her career. “I was also offered to work in serials and participate in reality shows, but I was very keen and stubborn about the choices that I took.”
Mirnalini registers she doesn’t want to fit into a particular mold. “I want to be on my own track and don’t want people to have any preconceived notions associated with me or my roles. I am forging my own identity,” she says, confident about her journey ahead.