When Sharanya Nair was asked to audition for a film, she had no clue what she was auditioning for. A short film, at the most, she thought. But when, after the second round of auditions, director Vishnu Narayan and scenarist Krishna Moorthy sat her down to tell her what the film was, and who she was acting with, she thought she was being pranked. “I didn’t think I would be acting in a film with Tovino Thomas. I had just watched Godha a week before that and here I was to act with Tovino...I seriously thought it was some sort of a prank!” says the effervescent youngster who made her debut as Asha in Maradona .
She sounds as chirpy and bubbly as the character in the film, over the phone, so the role would have been easy? “No, being Asha was not in the least easy. I was very anxious - it was my first time before the camera, acting opposite Tovino Thomas... I wanted to give it my best shot. All credit goes to Vishnuettan and Krishna Moorthy chettan, who would speak to me about the character constantly, getting me into her mind-space where I would have to be her.”
As Asha, Sharanya breathed life into the character, and finds it a compliment when she is, mistakenly, called Asha. It has been a week since the film’s release, and life is changing bit by bit. “People are recognising me, slowly. And I am thinking is it how it is going to be from now on?” she says, sounding excited at the prospect. For someone who had all but given up hopes of a career in films this was as unexpected as it could be.
“I have nursed the film dream forever, but I had no clue how to go about it. I didn’t know anybody who was connected with the industry.” Her family has nothing to do with films—her father is a businessman, mother a home-maker and an IT professional brother. The break came to her through her MBA classmate (CUSAT), Mahesh, Vishnu Narayan’s friend. The first round auditions were a breeze, but when Mahesh informed her of the second round she got a bit anxious.
An interest in the performing arts—music, dance, drama—ensured that the girl from Tripunithura spent more time outside the class than inside, Sharanya confesses. She had just joined her job as a sale trainee with the CGH Earth group when she got the role as well. Her colleagues have been as excited about her acting as word of the film got out. “My bosses have been very supportive all through and encouraging.”
The feedback, for her performance, has been encouraging. “When seniors from the industry ask me if this was my first acting job, it is such an honour for a beginner like me. People find it hard to believe that I’ve never, ever acted in a film, not even a short film!”
Any offers? “No, it’s only been a week, isn’t it? People are just catching up with the film.”
