It is another day at work for actor Gayathri R Suresh when I catch up with her on phone. No, she is not shooting for a movie, but at the head office of South Indian Bank in Thrissur!
Well, it is not everyday that you hear that about a heroine who is also a former Miss Kerala. Does that mean the arclights was not tempting enough to leave her job? “More than that I enjoy balancing my job with acting. I started working in the bank three years ago, even before I won the beauty pageant. A bank career gives you security, you can’t be an actress all your life, there is an expiry date,” says the actor who breezed into Malayalam cinema playing the lead opposite Kunchacko Boban in Jamna Pyari .
So are her customers star struck? “Not really. We take care of administrative aspects of the bank and so there is not much of direct interaction with customers. Even then there have been occasions when people have been curious to know what I was doing in the bank! The bank has been immensely supportive when it comes to granting leave. My colleagues in the office went together to see my movies,” sings the vivacious actress in her typical Thrissur slang.
The new year promises to be a good one for her, with three movies lined up - Oru Mexican Aparatha, Sakhavu and, her first Tamil movie, 4G . Although Jamna Pyari fared well at the box office, Gayathri didn’t go on a signing spree.
“My profession was not the reason. It was because I wanted to do only good roles and so chose only those that gave me scope to perform. One of them was Ore Mukham ,” she says.
Cinema has always been a dream for her. “Although I used to tell everybody that I wanted to become a doctor, actually cinema has always been my first love. During my college days, studies took a backseat as I was more into cultural activities. I took part in the Miss Kerala 2014 pageant hoping that it would be my ticket to cinema, but I never thought I would eventually win the title. Later, I was one of the runner-ups of Miss Queen of South India (2015) contest, which got me the role in Jamna Pyari ,” she says.
The movie was a fun ride with some of the finest actors in Malayalam. “The biggest advantage was the Thrissur slang. I am from Thrissur and so it was a cakewalk. Dubbing for the role was equally exciting. In Oru Mexican Aparatha too, I speak the same slang. The movie has many Thrissur natives -Tovino (Thomas), director Tom Emmatty, our cameraman Prakash Velayudhan and many others in the crew,” she says.
She can’t stop gushing about the movie.
“It is an out-and-out campus movie. The highlight is that it is made in a realistic way. Be it the dialogues or the colour tone of the frames, everything look natural. I play Anu, Tovino’s character’s love, and in most of our combination scenes we have improvised with our dialogues. Also there are many characters in the movie that you can easily relate to...” she goes on. In Sakhavu , directed by Sidhartha Siva, she plays Aishwarya, a nurse. “After watching Thattathin Marayathu I wanted to act with Nivin Pauly and it has finally happened in Sakhavu ,” she says, adding: “Now I want to share screenspace with Vineeth Sreenivasan and Asif Ali.” And acting with Shah Rukh Khan would be her dream come true!
Although she got many offers from Tamil and Telugu after Jamna Pyari , Gayathri had put them on hold.
“I wanted Malayalis to accept me first. Once I felt that I had made a mark here, I decided to do 4G . It is a fantasy love story and I am cast opposite G.V. Prakash Kumar. Venkat Pakkar, who assisted Shankar, is directing it. It was a different experience altogether, playing Nisha, a cute, bubbly character. We have finished three schedules and I think I did well with the dialogues. The interesting part was wearing all kinds of costumes and experimenting with my look,” she says.
Now that she has crossed the borders, will she be doing more films? “I don’t think I am here for the long run. Now, my aim is to begin my own venture. I enjoying experimenting with fashion and have been designing my own dresses. I will end up doing something related to textile and fashion for sure,” she laughs.
Style file
Gayathri, who loves wearing bright colours, finds Alia Bhatt the best dressed. She is stylish, but never goes over the top with her make-up or hairstyle.
