‘ Trolling in South can get savage’

MALAVIKA MOHANAN OPENS UP ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA, GAINING A FOOTHOLD IN MOVIES AND WORKING WITH MAJID MAJIDI

Malavika Mohanan is a known name down South, but her foray into Hindi cinema has started with a bang with Beyond the Clouds.

The actress, who’s originally from Kerala but was born and raised in Mumbai, says she’s passionate about movies and wants to stick to this industry for the near future. “Right now, I want to do Hindi movies, but I am open to doing Malayalam ones a little later,” she smiles. “It has taken me some time to crack a movie here, so it doesn’t make sense for me to do one and then go back. I want to focus my energies here, in the Hindi film industry.”

The actress also claims that she never wanted to be known as a South actress. “I didn’t want to be a South actor per se. Not that I didn’t want to be one, but my goal was always the Hindi film industry. I grew up here ( in Mumbai) so I connected more with the films here,” she adds.

Malavika, who has done about five Malayalam movies, sighs as she talks about the trolling that takes place down South. “I think it’s horrible, and especially in Kerala, people are savage. Like, in Bollywood, it’s on a fun level but in Kerala it’s on the next level. I’ve seen the kind of trolling that’s also happened with Parvathy for no reason,” she adds. “I think that’s happening a lot more with women than with men. It’s a very patriarchal world. In Kerala, people are just chauvinistic, but here it’s better here — easygoing and relaxed.”

Her co- star in Beyond the Clouds, which releases on April 20, was Ishaan Khatter, an industry kid who had superstar brother Shahid Kapoor to guide him. But Malavika has been learning the ropes by herself. “My family is here to guide me,” she says. “They’re not mentoring me, because even they don’t know much about this job. I’ve gone through my own graph. When you don’t have anybody to lean on, you just learn by yourself.”

Working with award- winning Iranian director was a tough ask in the beginning, reveals Malavika. “Initially it was a little difficult, because there was a translator. But so many things get lost in translation. So many emotions get lost out. But by the halfway mark, we started sort of figuring it out. The moment you take language out of the equation, it’s interesting to see how people communicate,” she says.

The actress is quick to add that she looks up to Deepika Padukone — an interesting thought, since the Padmaavat actress had auditioned for the role Malavika finally played. “I can’t say I replaced her; she was also one of the contenders,” explains Malavika. “She’s very inspiring, she too comes from a non- filmy background. She’s not a star kid. My dad does work in movies, but isn’t a director; no one offered me a film because my dad is in the industry. I find both Priyanka ( Chopra) and Deepika very inspiring.”

“Deepika is very inspiring, she too comes from a non- filmy background” — MALAVIKA MOHANAN