Maya S. Krishnan is on cloud nine. She is part of superstar Rajinikanth’s much hyped 2.0 . When even posing for a photograph with the megastar was beyond imagination, rubbing shoulders with the star actor is like a dream come true. “I never thought I would be acting with him one day. From the call for the audition to the selection process, everything still seems like a dream and I still pinch myself to be sure that everything is for real,” she gushes.
Though not a substantial role, Maya spent six days shooting with the star. She had combination acting sequences and an opportunity to interact with him. It had a telling impact inspiring her to become a full fledged actor. Prior to this she worked with Jayakumar, senior artiste of Koothuppattarai in couple of theatre workshops. But after the film, she became a full fledged theatre person and presently is the resident actor with Little’s Theatre group. As a student of TVS Lakshmi Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Madurai, she won a lot of medals at several gymnastic competitions and believes that it enhanced her acting skills. “I never fail to exhibit my gymnastic skills on stage,” she smiles.
This time round the mega opportunity came through Prashanth, assistant to Director Shankar. Prashanth auditioned her after getting her photograph from Sai Krishna, who works for a casting agency. “He gave me a situation and asked me to react. And then videotaped what I did to show it to the director. After the first level of screening I was called for the second audition and after successful completion, I was offered the role. Since I was strictly told not to reveal any information, I shared it with my family just before the shoot,” she says.
“During the shoot I saw why everybody is in awe of the actor. I was in the make up room when he entered the arena. Immediately, there was pindrop silence. Wearing a veishti and shirt he swiftly moved across. I was reminded of his walk in Baasha . He is like that in real life also. I understood what larger than life personality means.”
Maya was part of the first day shoot of the film. Her first shot was a sequence in combination with the star. “Meeting him is magical. I was very nervous. I had several rehearsals for five days prior to the shoot since they felt I should not be the reason for a retake and also not an embarrassment to the director. I was thorough with dialogues before I got ready for the shot. When he walked in he created a kind of an aura that everyone stood still. He came to me and gently asked what I did otherwise. Extremely cordial, he made me feel at ease and even cracked jokes,” she says.
Maya also worked with Amy Jackson, one of the lead actors of the movie. “In fact, I went for a lot of retakes and I was very tense. Amy was very warm and kept encouraging me,” she says.
Maya’s debut movie was James Vasanthan’s Vaanavil Vaazhkai and 2.0 is her second. Presently, she is working for Kutram Kadithal -fame Bramma's Magalir Mattum , with Jyothika in lead role.
