She has been doing memorable character roles since her debut in 2009/10 in the Hindi film, Ishqiya and Tamil film Pokisham . But it was the powerful portrayal of a single mother in the Tamil film Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal last year that brought Anupama Kumar her first major award — the Vijay Award 2013 for Best Supporting Actress. While her Ponmalai Pozhudu and Moodar Koodam are in the post-production stage, Anupama has signed another Tamil film which features Gautam Karthik and is directed by Ravi Thyagarajan. Anupama says, “The role in MUK was very challenging. It was not easy to portray the many shades and moods of the character.”
Making his presence felt
Producer Jeevanandam’s PCSM Productions has launched their next venture after Nirnayam , directed by S. S. Sri Saravanan. The music for this film, Vellai Poigal , is by Selva Ganesh who had scored music for Nirnaya m too. While the hero is Dinesh, his best friend is played by Gadam Kishan who is slowly emerging as a character-comedian. “The film, Vellai Poigal is a love story but can be watched by the entire family. I play Mukesh, who pretends to go to work everyday but whiles away his time doing nothing. He puts up a busy appearance and gets into humorous situations. After Thirumanam Ennum Nikka, I have a lot of hope from my role in this film,” says Kishan.
Turning point
After working as an assistant director for some time, Madhan Kodees was keen to gain a firm footing in the film industry. An incident in his life inspired to come up with a 13-minute short film, Karmavinai in which he played the main role. “Those who have watched the film have appreciated my effort. Some even said I should take my acting skills seriously and that is how I landed a role in a feature film,” says Madhan. In director Jana Venkat’s Manathil Oru Maatram , Madhan is paired with Spoorthi. “I play a chilled out youngster from a rich family and studying in an IT institute. There I meet a girl who comes from a poor family. She is not interested in falling in love and her sole aim in life is to take care of her family. How this situation changes me and how our relationship takes on a meaningful turn is what Manathil Oru Maatram all about,” says Madhan.
Making mark
Determination and a passion for her craft brought Roopa from Goa to Chennai. “A director who watched me in a live show recommended me to music director Taj Noor who was doing music for Ethan in which I sang the song ‘Simparapa’,” says Roopa who comes from a family of educationists. “I was sure I wanted to make a career in music. After Ethan I moved on to 6 (starring Shaam) which has music by Srikant Deva. My next assignment is the song, ‘Naan minnum taaragai’ in Poonai under music director S. P. Bhoopathi. I have also rendered a peppy number ‘Kaattu Pura’. When I sing, I get a lot of positive vibration,” says Roopa who has undergone training in Hindustani music.
