Like all Indian children who for their strong academic background take to academics, Melanie Kannokada also took a strong leaning towards academics. A perfect concoction of a nerd? But after she became an Engineer and joined a corporate firm, she felt there are other options which she can look into. Her passions ran parallel just as much as she loved physics, math and chemistry she also loved martial arts, jazz dance and the stage. “And I tried everything and was pretty good at it. I learnt martial arts, did a course in Jazz dance and was also with a Bollywood dance troupe. My athletic abilities always kept me very positive about myself.”
Melanie Kannokada who is better known as Mel amongst friends and colleagues, is being called Seetha at the moment. With her acting debut in Love, Lies and Seetha , Melanie feels upbeat about her acting career. “I love Hindi movies and loved the time I spent with the Bollywood dance troupe. My wish to act was mostly dormant. I have shot for commercials but wasn't sure whether I would really hit the silver screen. But luck came calling when one of my colleagues from a commercial suggested that I try playing Seetha in Chandra Pemmaraju's Love, Lies and Seetha . It was completely fresh team and almost all of us are debuting so we were pretty excited and helped each other a lot,” recollects Mel.
Melanie an ardent fan of Aamir Khan, George Clooney and Johnny Depp says she loved the way the director narrated the story and terms it as ‘forward thinking'. “I loved the movie all the more when I watched it for the second time. The second time I watched it, the nuances of director's direction and the intricacies of our characters reflected well to me,” she says. What are her expectations from the movie? “Cannot really tell much as the audience's reaction varies. But like all actors I will definitely want our movie to do well,” says Melanie. When asked how is she different from the Seetha she plays, pat comes Melanie's reply, “I wouldn't date three guys at the same time. However, the Seetha I played is a complex character. Otherwise Seetha like me is dependent and has many lovely elements to her character.”
What is next on the cards, “I'm going to read a Telugu script and I feel I am here to stay.”
