Some love her curly hair, some her affable smile and some her presentation style. Well, she does get criticised too. However, Soumya is absolutely happy in the space that she is in right now. After all, she never thought that she would get in front of the camera because direction was all that she wanted to do.
But then life always springs surprises. She is one television anchor who stands out from the rest. Her show on Kappa TV, Film Lounge , has completed 500 episodes; she is now acting in her fourth movie, Ormayundo Ee Mukham, the last one she did was Santosh Sivan’s Inam .
Amidst all that she hasn’t given up her dream. She has been an assistant director in movies and ad films and is confident about making the cut one day.
“Even as a young girl, I always felt that I would end up in the film industry one day. But my parents insisted that I should earn a professional degree before pursuing my dream. I did my engineering (from College of Engineering, Trivandrum). However, I didn’t attend campus interviews, because I didn’t want to work, it was like punishing myself. In fact, but for a close of friend of my mine who was studious, I wouldn’t have even covered the portions to clear the exams! Once I finished the course, my parents made me understand that it is better to earn some money and then plunge into cinema. So, I worked four years in Bangalore. After coming home, I travelled a lot, meeting my friends. Later, it was through a friend that I became an assistant director in Cinema Company and later in Idavappaathi and Jawan of Vellimala ,” she says.
Acting just happened, Soumya says. “I had acted in a music video Oru Naal , which was made by my friend. That somehow caught the attention of Jayasurya, who called me for the role in David and Goliath . I was shocked, but the crew convinced me to take it up. After that I acted in One , which was made by a friend,” she says. In Ormayundo… directed by Anvar Sadiq, she plays Namitha Pramod’s sister’s character.
Being a serious student of cinema, she used to write blogs on films. Eventually that was what took her to Film Lounge , in which she talks about new releases and recommends a classic movie for the viewers. It was Sumesh Lal, content head of Kappa TV, who gave her an offer to host a film-based show.
“I was not confident since I can’t pretend to be someone else. He asked me to be myself and with the support of my producer Rajesh Kadamba and the entire team, we could go this far. The best part is that we never had to repeat any episode. I think people like the show because of the personal touch and Sumesh made it even more personal by giving my name as Sou in the credits. That is how my close friends call me!” she says.
As for film-making, she has found a guiding force in Santosh Sivan. “He belongs to a different school. While working in Inam , I found that there was no hierarchy on the sets. It was more like a family. There was no ego clashes and all of us were driven by the same motive, that is to give our best shot. The energy on the set was incredible. He gave a lot of space for creativity. Unfortunately the film had to be withdrawn from theatres. He keeps telling me to go to Chennai where I will get better opportunities to realise my dream. But then, I want to see it happen in Kerala, because I know it is not easy to please the Malayali audience,” she signs off.
