Ten-year-old Neha Kuriachan was nervous when she first faced the movie camera. But it lasted only for a while, she says, as the crew and especially the director, Aashiq Abu, was extremely friendly. Neha is excited about her first film and her role as Ann Augustine’s adorably plump childhood in Abu’s upcoming Da Thadiya.
Though she has made several friends on the sets, she has found her best buddy in Ann Augustine. “We were always playing games and having fun together,“ says Neha. Her costumes, however, were a little old-fashioned. “Since I play Ann’s childhood, I had to wear frocks that kids used to wear in the olden days,” she says. Neha has also become quite a celebrity in school, from where she was selected for the audition. “My friends are curious to know about the shooting and my acting.”
Message from Mohanlal
Amaranth, Live Life , Rejith Ramachandran’s 17-minute short film got a real shot in the arm when Mohanlal decided to associate with it. The film that has no dialogues, has a child as the central character, the film attempts to spread the word that cancer need not spell doom.
Rejith met Mohanlal at the location of the star’s latest flick Run Baby Run. “I spoke to him directly and he expressed his desire to watch Amaranth. I gave him a CD. He must have watched it the same day for he called me the next day and asked me what he was supposed to do. I was shocked. I asked him if he could give a message which could be added at the end of the film. And he agreed,” says Rejith.
There were more surprises in store for the young director. When they went to Mohanlal’s house to shoot the actor was ready with the message in English. The three-minute message has now been added as part of the short film. Mohanlal shared this film on his facebook and twitter pages. And subsequently the hit rate of Amaranth has skyrocketed to more than 10,000 in record time. A thoughtful gesture from the superstar!
