People did sometimes call me abishtoo: Akshara Haasan
Post the release of Achcham Madam Naanam Payirppu’s trailer, Akshara Haasan and the director of the film Raja Ramamurthy talk to DT Next about the message behind the film, and Akshara opens up on how she found it challenging to play Pavithra
Akshara Haasan greets us with her ever-cheerful smile over a video call and the director of her upcoming film Achcham Madam Naanam Payirppu, Raja Ramamurthy too introduces himself. The trailer of AMNP was launched by Kamal Haasan five days ago and it has garnered six lakh views so far. It discusses generation gaps and societal taboos. “Every generation faces this problem of being judged by their previous generation. Even in my house if people feel that I have done something wrong, they immediately say Ai, Inna (Hey, What?). This happens in every family but then there are core values and roots my family strongly believes in. Though Shruti and I have been given the freedom to explore, they expect us to be honest and hardworking people at the end of the day. It’s up to us how we take it,” says Akshara.
Raja adds to it and says that he had to observe the societal changes to go about with the script of AMNP. “What sort of society we live in, and how we are being judged by the society based on the actions and how we make decisions influenced by others around us. This is one of the fascinating aspects that the movie revolves around and how the protagonist decides on what she wants is what we have explored,” he opens up. Akshara says that playing Pavithra, a 19-year-old was quite different from what she is as a person off the camera. “The roles I take up should challenge me. There should be this twist that no one could expect. Playing Pavithra was more exciting than challenging. That is the best part of being an actor. We get to live the lives of several people that people in other professions don’t get to. It is a blessing in a way,” she tells us. Akshara admits that she in a way could relate to Pavithra in AMNP. “I have been a loner since my childhood. There are times I have asked myself where did I go wrong for people to treat me this way. There are certain times when I have done a few things and people have called me abishtoo. I didn’t understand why they have to say that to me because I see a few things from a different perspective. So playing Pavithra reminded me of fighting for what I believe in,” she reveals. Usha Uthup plays Akshara’s grandmother while Malgudi Subha plays another important role. “You cannot come across sweeter people than Usha ma’am and Subha ma’am. So, we decided that let them do the opposite of what they are. It’s like what if they both had an evil twin,” says Raja.
Akshara had to prep to play a Carnatic singer in the film prior to the shoot. “I am not a singer like my sister. So, I had to learn the nuances of a Carnatic singer to amplify the performance,” concludes the actress.
Though Shruti and I have been given the freedom to explore, they expect us to be honest and hardworking people at the end of the day — Akshara Haasan