MUMBAI: South star Nivetha Thomas says her early stint as a child actor on television made her transition to films "extremely seamless".
The 24-year-old began her career at the age of five with 2000 Tamil show "Raja Rajeswari". She followed it up with "My Dear Bootham" and "Shivamayam" in 2004.
Her film journey began with Malayalam drama "Veruthe Oru Bharya" in 2008 and since then, she has starred in critically-acclaimed films and blockbusters such as "Papanasam", "Money Ratnam", "Gentleman" and "Darbar".
Nivetha said she doesn't have a "strategy" for her career as she never thought about becoming an actor in the first place.
"I never had a strategy because I never planned to become an actor. I was used to watching films but I didn't know acting was a profession. I was very young when I went on a set where I was told only to react. I wasn't bothered if the camera was rolling, I had no inhibition," the actor told PTI.
Recalling her days as a child artiste, Nivetha said her days were divided between shoots and school.
"I used to spend half the time at work and half the time at school, where I would plan about going back to work again. I was constantly working, one after the other with some of the most renowned people in the industry."
The actor believes that her early introduction to the world of showbiz has kept her grounded.
"May be because I started as a kid, I was just trying to go with the flow and not think too much. I didn't know if I had to be different just because I was a female lead. I was fortunate to have a great team, good people."
"I would always observe what was good and make sure I didn't take a path that would have been bad for me and those around me. The transition was extremely seamless."
Nivetha is now awaiting the release of her latest, "V" which reunites here with "Gentleman" team of superstar Nani and filmmaker Mohan Krishna Indraganti after four years.
Originally scheduled to release theatrically, the film's release was pushed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. It is now set to stream on Amazon Prime Video from September 5.
"'V' gave me an opportunity to work with Mohan again, who is one of my most favourite directors. I completely trust the way he writes his characters irrespective of the duration of a role. I trusted him with this and he didn't let me down with Apoorva, which is my one of my favourite characters."
In the movie, Nivetha plays the role of a crime novelist, a part the actor found immensely "relatable".
"When I was reading the brief of the character, I thought she was extremely relatable. I knew people exactly like her but may be not as weird. I could see certain traits in her which I have too but people don't know."
"She is unapologetically herself. She's a self-made woman with a goal to become a crime novelist. Her method, her investigation is quite twisted. It was a wholesome role," she added.
The film also stars Sudheer Babu and reportedly features Nani as an antagonist for the first time.