Melanie Kannokada: Engineer turned actor

Actress Melanie Kannokada, who turned quite a few heads with ‘D for Dopidi’, has a lot going in her career as of now. The Chicago-born speaks about how she landed in the film and how difficult it was for her to speak the language among other interesting things.

Tell us about yourself and your background.

I was born and brought up in Chicago but my family roots are in Kerala. Growing up, I was a martial artist, a pianist, a dancer and also very much into math and physics. I attended Stanford University in US and earned my degree in Mechanical Engineering, but eventually I decided to leave engineering to explore my childhood dream of becoming an actress. Acting is now my full time profession.

How did you become a part ‘D for Dopidi’?

I was in Hyderabad for the screening of an independent film I featured in – ‘Love, Lies and Seeta’. Afterwards filmmakers Raj and DK approached me for the role of Shalini in ‘D for Dopidi’. Later things fell in place and within no time I was a part of the film.

How was the experience shooting of the first film?

It was quite alien to me and it did take some adjusting. The language barrier was a challenge at first. Also there was the discomfort of not having any friends or family in Hyderabad. However, the film’s team was amazing - they made me feel more than welcome and took great care of me. And by the end of my time and I had a great appreciation for Hyderabad and the Tollywood industry.

How did you go about the role?

I hadn't seen the final script or my dialogues until I landed in Hyderabad (from LA) just 2 days before my first scene. Luckily, I didn't need to do much work on my character of Shalini. However, since I'm not fluent in Telugu, learning the dialogues turned out to be challenging task. I worked closely with Siraj, the director, and other team members to get the language down as best I could. It was hard at first, but became easier as the days went on.

What’s next?

I've been approached for a few films, but I’m just waiting for the right one as of now. It's challenging since I also have projects in the US. But I'm trying to find a balance between both industries.