Actor Nandita Swetha doesn’t believe in dreams. But quite ironically, she is living one. The Attakathi actor will soon be seen alongside Vijay in the multi-starrer Puli, which is set to release soon. “I accepted this movie only because of Ilayathalapathy,” she says, her cheeks turning pink. “When I met him first on the sets of the shoot, he complimented me on my work in Ethir Neechal . I was so flattered he had watched my films,” she adds, on the sidelines of the Autumn 2015 collection lookbook launch at Max, ECR.
On the sets of the film, the young actor was impressed with Vijay’s humility. “You expect directors and technical crew to wait for the hero, right? In Vijay’s case, he is the one waiting for the rest of the team. He is never resting inside the caravan waiting for the shot to be ready; instead, he uses that time to interact with the lot,” she says.
The film also stars Shruti Haasan, Hansika and Sridevi. Nandita has no qualms sharing credit with a line-up of celebrities. With a wave of her hand, she says, “It hardly makes a difference to me. All I look for is an impactful role in the movie, however small it is.” As it turns out, with the busy schedule that she had (juggling four projects — Idam Porul Yaeval , Anjala , Uppu Karuvadu and Puli ), unwinding with the rest of the star cast was beyond scope. “I don’t share screen space with them at all, just with Vijay. In fact, I met Sridevi ma’am only at the audio launch, and jumped at the opportunity to tell her that she was one of my inspirations to come into cinema,” she says.
Though Nandita, who is a native of Karnataka, started her career there (with Nanda loves Nanditha in 2008), she decided to stick to Tamil cinema ever since Attakathi in 2012. “There is so much respect given to stars here, and even the smallest of roles is recognised,” she says. “So, I have earnestly worked on my Tamil over the years. And since every movie offered to me was performance-oriented, the lip sync had to be perfect,” she adds.
For the movie Idam Porul Yaeval , her most challenging one till date, she practised the dialect prevalent in and around Kodaikanal, perfecting it for hours. In the movie, she is seen in rags, and almost three shades darker. “It is challenging for actors to take on such roles. But I truly believe that if the character is a hit, the heroine is a hit,” she smiles.
Currently, she is working on her Nagercoil ‘homely’ girl look for Ulkuthu — a movie by the Thirudan Police team. She will be teaming up with Dinesh again after Attakathi . That apart, Nandita is all set to try horror comedy (with Mirchi Shiva) and take on a city girl’s look for the upcoming movie Kaathiruppor Pattiyal .
As much as these roles excite her, what Nandita would really like is to adorn herself with heavy ornaments, a bright sari, and have a halo shining around her head, she reveals. “I would like to play a goddess someday,” she smiles.
