New star on the horizon
Aishwarya Lekshmi is riding high after the success of her latest film Varathan. The three-film-old star, who is the Malayalam film industry’s new sensation, tells City Times how it was working with top actors and directors so early in her career, and why she turned up in a simple Kerala saree at a recent awards ceremony in Dubai
The Malayalam film industry has not had a consistent leading lady after the likes of Urvashi, Shobhana, Manju Warrier and Kavya Madhavan. Therefore, it is only natural that audiences are sitting up and taking note of this young actress, who is basking in the glory of three prestigious films in her kitty. Aishwarya Lekshmi has become the talk of the town after her riveting performances in Aashiq Abu’s Mayaanadhi and Amal Neerad’s recent film, Varathan.
“It (Varathan) is a movie every Malayali will relate to,” says Aishwarya in a phone interview with City Times. The movie stars Fahadh Faasil as Abin and Aishwarya as Priya, a couple that relocates from Dubai to a village in Kerala after the protagonist loses his job. The story deals with the couple’s misadventures with the rural townsfolk and how they deal with the situation.
“Priya and Aby are married. Their relationship undergoes a transition and the movie deals with the conflicts they go through and what happens next. I play a strong character that doesn’t wait for anyone’s permission to do things. Although she is a confident woman, she is docile and loving to Abin. But, if the situation demands, she will stand up to it,” says the actress, who is also an MBBS graduate and pursued modelling before her big break in movies.
Aishwarya also received praise for her character (Aparna) in Mayaanadhi where she was paired with current sensation Tovino Thomas.
“I am lucky to get such strongly written and strong characters so early on in my career,” says the actor, who made her debut as Nivin Pauly’s heroine in Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela.
Working with Amal
She received only a handful of offers after Mayaanadhi, from which she picked Varathan because she wanted to play an intense character. “I have tried to do justice to it. Amal (sir) was confident he could make me play the part,” she recalls. The director also helped style Aishwarya’s character in Mayaanadhi. Drawing similarities between her characters in Mayaanadhi and Varathan, Aishwarya said: “Both are strong women who defend themselves. They are not bothered to please anyone and live life on their own terms. Priya is more mature than Aparna. She can think through situations and uses her brain more while Aparna is more impulsive.”
Acting with Nivin, Tovino and Fahadh is a dream come true for any upcoming actress. Aishwarya says they are all similar in how they work extremely hard for their characters. While she shared limited scenes with Nivin in Njandukalude, their scenes were a lot of fun, the actress tells us. “Both Tovino and Fahadh had a lot of discussions with the directors, yet made their characters look so effortless. Fahadh was serious on the sets, his character required him to be intense. He was always in discussions with Amal (sir) to take the script forward while Nivin was a prankster on sets,” she adds.
Aishwarya also got a chance to be around actress Nazriya Nazim (Fahadh’s wife) as she was one of Varathan’s co-producers. “Nazriya is the most friendly and positive person to be around. She was my closest friend on the sets of Varathan.”
Director’s actor
She is all praise for her first director Althaf Salim, who also made his debut with Njandukalude. “He knew what he wanted. It’s very easy to work with people who know what they are doing. He was no less an artist when compared to Amal Neerad and Aashiq Abu. All of them were brilliant to work with. They knew what to extract from me, in terms of my performance, and were driven in their working styles.”
Aishwarya likes to believe she is a director’s actor, who listens to their every command and input and tries to improvise as well. She next be seen in Jis Joy’s Vijay Superum Pournamiyum, opposite Asif Ali. Shooting commences in November and Aishwarya plays a simple character in the family drama. She will also be seen with Kalidas Jayaram in Argentina Fans Kattoorkadavu where she takes on a rural character.
She has also signed a Tamil film opposite Vishal, directed by Sundar C. “I am nervous since I don’t know the language too well. Shooting starts in January,” she shares.
Aishwarya says it’s a strong script that convinces her to sign a film. “It has to excite me and I should love to watch it as an audience. In Njandukalude, for instance, I did not play a central character despite being the heroine. But, I loved the sequence of the script and how a disease like cancer was treated in a very light manner,” she adds.
The actress, whose dream role is the one portrayed by Priyamani in the Tamil film Paruthiveeran, says life has not changed after stardom. “I don’t consider myself a celebrity, but an actor instead. What has changed is only my passion to do good movies,” she concludes.