Tall, dusky and beautiful, Dhansika has slowly managed to carve a niche for herself. After her striking performance in Kabali, she was widely appreciated for her role as a blind woman in Solo . She also has a slew of films lined up, with Vizhithiru releasing today. Excerpts from an interview:
After delay, Vizhithiru is finally releasing. As an actor, how frustrating are such delays?
I have other films to keep myself occupied, but it’s the director who suffers the most when a film gets delayed. In Vizhithiru ’s case, director Meera Kathiravan sir is also the producer. I felt bad for him, but his attitude has always been positive. He is a focused and quite an inspiration. The film’s release will be a big relief for him. Its goes to show the issues that are plaguing the industry; theatre availability, for instance, is a problem every small-budget films faces.
What can we expect from Vizhithiru ?
It’ll have all elements like comedy, love, thrills and sentiment. Four different stories will be seamlessly connected thanks to the well-knit screenplay. I play a Madras slum girl. I picked up the area’s slang and have tried comedy for the first time. It was a challenging role, but the director’s writing pushed me to emote just right.
Has Kabali given your career the right impetus?
The film was celebrated after its release, but I won’t say that my career graph zoomed overnight. I’m choosing carefully nowadays, as more people are watching me. I focus on the story as a whole and not just my character.
What next?
First is Mela, which is a Tamil-Telugu bilingual directed by Kiran. I’ll have different dimensions in the film, with fight sequences and also scope for comedy alongside a seasoned performer like Ali.
Then there is Kuzhali , another Tamil-Telugu bilingual, directed by Ramanaw Mallam, a former assistant of Gautham Menon. It’s a film on women empowerment and the problems we face. The director has researched on the subject for seven years. It is quite an inspiring story. These are the two films that I’m currently shooting for.
It seems as though you have decided to stay away from clichéd, glamorous commercial roles…
I’m always open to commercial roles; Mela is one such. The glamour quotient is based on the character that I play and what it requires. I started off in the industry as a teenager. I gradually started shaping my career the way I wanted to. Good directors also came to me. Now, irrespective of the end result, I just keep working and do my part earnestly. One day, success shall knock.
Your recent Silambam video went viral in a big way…
It’s really necessary to maintain one’s physique. I’m not a gym/weight-training person. I need different forms to maintain my weight. Silambam really interests me; it’s a wonderful martial art-form and is part of my routine. My guru, Pandian master, has been into this for about 32 years, and he also imparts free training to poor kids. Five minutes of intense Silambam is equivalent to 30 minutes of cardio training. It also helps me sharpen my focus, observation skills and concentration while acting and delivering my dialogues. It has changed how I look at life.
Finally, T Rajendar’s brash speech at the Vizhithiru press meet was a big setback for you. How did you come out of it?
It was very hurtful and I just became blank for a day or so. I totally switched myself off from social media and had a quiet, sleepless night with vague thoughts running in my mind. The next morning, I was back on social media to see some seriously genuine support. I came out of it and was back to normal after a few days. The after-effects of that episode still linger in me, but life has to go on.
