Talks By The Firelight 1.4: Off Script
Nithya Menen, Actress
The final day of Festember ’18 was graced by the ever-popular Nithya Menen. A few members from Team Festember had the opportunity to interview her prior to her guest lecture and dive into the minds of one of the industry’s finest. The guest lecture was a part of the Carpe Diem series of lectures, where multiple renowned professionals in the fields of art, music, and films, amongst many others, share their experiences and wisdom.
A woman with dashing beauty and remarkable boldness, she is a journalism student from Manipal University, who made her entry into Indian Cinema through a Kannada Film. ‘Seven O’ Clock’ marked the beginning of her career, which was followed by multiple blockbusters and award-winning movies in all Southern languages. ‘Ala Modalaindi’, ‘Ustad Hotel’, ‘OK Kanmani’, ‘Mersal’, ‘Ishq’ and ‘Bangalore Days’ are few of the many successful projects that she has undertaken.
While she would have liked to do things differently, if given a chance to revisit the past, her views were along the lines of ‘every person is here to serve a purpose’. As a result, she felt that what ifs were unnecessary. When asked about the topics that resonate with teenagers the most, she felt very strongly that light must be shed on the mental and physical changes that occur. “They are the future of the nation and hence, it is important to set a good foundation”, she added. The guest lecture also focused on this topic, as she addressed an audience of more than a few thousand students.
Her take on intelligent films and intelligent filmmaking was brought under the spotlight as well. She told Team Festember that such films focused on the script and the related elements. By keeping monetary goals and cast-specific storylines out of the equation, films naturally end up becoming intelligent. Such films also require the cast to take up physically and mentally challenging roles, like the one she took up in ‘Kanchana 2’. Nithya Menen humorously described the role as “not me”, when asked about some of the challenging roles that she had to nail.
“ When they say ‘action,’ I am into it completely and forget everything around. When they say ‘cut,’ I am back to myself.”
The pairing between a director and an actor/actress is always crucial in ensuring the success of a film. While some stars have a preferred set of directors who they like to associate with, Nithya Menen told Team Festember that names do not matter to her. “I want to work with somebody who has the ability to realize my potential and make use of it on screen”, she added. Having said that, she also acknowledged the amazing work that director Mani Ratnam did, in ‘OK Kanmani’. Out of the many good movies that she has done, she picked a particular scene from the very same movie as she was talking about her all-time favorite scene.
“I want to work with somebody who has the ability to realize my potential and make use of it on screen”
The final day of the Arabian Odyssey, that was Festember ’18, came to a close with her guest lecture that left thousands in awe. Overall, it was an exhilarating experience for Team Festember, to get this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interact with one of South India’s biggest film stars!
This interview was taken along with Kavya Muralidharan and Anurika Umasudan.
