Journalist, anchor, model, actor Anupama Kumar has played an appealing cameo in Cheran’s Pokkisham. She is Cheran’s aged wife in the film.
Anupama was in Chennai for an ad shoot when she heard that Cheran was looking for a new face to play an elderly woman in Pokkisham, and called him up. “Your voice sounds youthful. Sorry, I don’t think I’m looking for a person like you,” he said. But Anupama wouldn’t allow him to hang up on her just like that. He had already tried out 50 actors for the role. “Let me be the 51st. See me and then decide,” insisted this mother of a four-year old. Cheran found her suitable and she was in.
Forthcoming releases
Her mother tongue is Tamil and that should be an advantage. “It is. We’ve always lived in the North so Hindi, and, of course, English are the other languages I know.”
Then how come she started off with a Telugu film? “I picked up the language while shooting. Aa Okkadu was my debut,” she says.
Anupama is excited about her next release, this time in Hindi — Vishal Bhardwaj’s Ishqiya. And on the cards is Paartha in Kannada! She is also part of the cast of Anandam Aarambam (Tamil), Fruit Salad (Telugu) and Kyon Ho Gaya Na (Hindi).
“At 35, I don’t expect to play heroine. And my rather conservative background won’t allow me to do certain scenes. So I prefer substantial character roles,” she sounds practical.
Anupama lives in Delhi — husband Shiv Kumar is an Army commander. “My father-in-law was moved by Pokkisham. It’s sad that commendable work by great makers sometimes doesn’t receive the recognition it deserves.”
Many have noticed the subdued yet poignant portrayals of Anupama and Padmapriya in the scene where the two talk to each other over telephone. “Yeah, I’ve been receiving several compliments for the scene,” she smiles.
Between her first modelling assignment for Parle G and Pokkisham, Anupama has been featured in 200 commercials, including the Santro ad with Shah Rukh Khan.
“Modelling is my profession, and acting, a passion,” she says.
