Growing up, Andrea didn’t want to be a singer. Nor an actor. She’s both now.
Today, she’s a decade old in films and busy juggling her acting and singing career. Ahead of the release of Taramani , she opens up:
Taramani has been in the making for a while now. Tell us what made you choose this film in the first place.
I don’t choose my films; they choose me. If I say no to them, they keep hounding me till I take them! With respect to Taramani , I’d met Ram sir a couple of times. At that point of time, I had a guy working for me, who was a huge fan of Ram’s work; I think his enthusiasm was a deciding factor.
When the film shooting started, Ram spoke about how it would be ‘the role of a lifetime for you’. Four years later and with the film due for release, do you agree?
Oh, it’s been four years! (laughs) I’ve worked with a lot of directors who’ve said this to me, and I’m happy that they have actually considered me for those roles. But this whole ‘role of a lifetime’ is dependent on many things.
Like?
The time of release and how the role that is written has been translated on screen. But I think Taramani took a lot out of me emotionally. It’s certainly a turning point for me, irrespective of how it fares at the box office.
You’ve mentioned earlier that “for every role that I am doing, I associate with a core quality of the character and then hold on to it”. What was that core quality in Taramani ?
The story is about Althiya, an IT employee, and her love life. I don’t get the lifestyle of an IT employee, but I did relate to how a woman of today, who is intelligent and smart, still allows her self-esteem to be determined by a man.
So, it is a feminist film?
Definitely! Everyone who has watched it, including Vetrimaaran, described it as one. That’s because Althiya exists irrespective of the hero — unlike many other films.
Do you think the modern urban man is grappling with the changing woman, who’s doing most of the things he does?
Quite honestly, I don’t think men know what they want. They don’t know where they stand, as they are no longer required for the things they were needed for. In today’s generation, men are either excessively possessive or commitment-phobic.
The film talks about this, doesn’t it? The first teaser had the guy questioning you for having a lot of friends on Facebook...
These things happen. It’s a reflection of the society we live in. People may not relate to the circumstances in the film, but they will relate to the incidents.
There have been increasing incidents of stalking, and Taramani deals with that too. Have you faced it too?
I have faced it in high school, much before I even became an actor. There was this guy who used to keep calling from unknown numbers and speak in filthy language. He’d keep complaining about the people I used to hang out with. I’m sure many girls are going through the same now.
Do you think Tamil cinema has glorified stalking?
Ultimately, a film is not a social science lesson. Why can’t you treat it just like a film?
In our parents’ generation, before mobile phones, there were a lot of love stories that began with the guy following the girl. For them, that was their reality. I think there is a spectrum for everything — jealousy can range from a boy commenting on his lover’s male friends, to someone who kills his girlfriend because he thinks
