Nithya loves emoting love

When we talk about women playing prominent roles, they do not always have to be protagonists. A meaningful role that is portrayed well is a winner. The world and films are patriarchal in general, so making a space here is what makes a difference

– Nithya Menen

Versatility is her strength and simplicity is her style. Nithya Menen is one actress who has attracted audiences with nothing but talent. Her three films – ‘S/o Satyamurthy’, ‘Ok Bangaram’ and ‘Ganga’ (which released in Tamil) are wooing audience and the actress says it wasn’t planned.

“When I signed them, I didn’t think they would release like this. I shot them at different times. But I am glad that people got to see me in completely different kind of films. As an actor, I am immensely satisfied,” shares the actress who has been the talking point both in Tamil and Telugu, courtesy her stint as Tara in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ok Bangaram’.

Quiz her if the role was too bold a step, she replies, “As an actor, I should be able to do everything and anything. I will do a film when I sense a match in the wavelength of the filmmaker and me. Relationships, love and marriage are emotions that are sacred and I have immense respect for them. I am happy to express – especially love because it’s a beautiful feeling.”

A live-in relationship is the key premise of the film and the petite actress says she has no right to judge whether something is right or wrong. “Everyone has the right to make a choice but trying to rub the same opinion on someone else is wrong. My opinion about the live-in style of relations is the same.”The actress, till recently, has limited herself to smaller films which gave her a lot of scope to perform. But ‘S/o Satymurthy’ came as a bolt from the blue to her fans.

“I have worked across all the four industries in south and the acceptance from the Telugu audience has been most phenomenal. And so, I felt that when there’s so much love, why not give them what they want. Here, commercial cinema is what they like and that’s probably the reason I green-lit the film,” she explains.

But aren’t women limited to a few songs and sequences in such cinema? “Look at Nadiya’s role in ‘Attarintiki Daaredi’. That was a strong female role. When we talk about women playing prominent roles, they do not always have to be protagonists. A meaningful role that is portrayed well by the director is a winner. The world and films are patriarchal in general, so making a space here is what makes a difference,” reflects Nithya.

By Pranita Jonnalagedda