Despite starting her career in films eight years ago, last year is when a lot of people took note of Sanchana Natarajan. Her little dance step in Karthik Subbaraj’s Jagame Thathiram, staring Dhanush, was a hit on Instagram Reels. Her performance in Pa Ranjith’s much-acclaimed Sarpatta Parambarai, despite her limited screen time, was appreciated. The latter also turned out to be a significant film for her.
“We want things to work out in a certain way. But that does not really happen all the time. After Sarpatta, however, I got a response that I didn’t expect from the audience,” she says, “Now I have this expectation that people will like my performances.”
If you find Sanchana’s filmography sparse, it is because she does not accept every offer that comes her way. At this point of her career, she looks for two kinds of roles: one that would get her more visibility and the other that would whet her acting appetite. “If I get the chance to be a part of huge films with big stars, I would definitely take it up. These kind of roles, would give me a breakthrough,” she says, of the first kind.
The second kind of roles Sanchana searches for are pure passion projects. “These are characters I don’t know if I can pull them off; but still I give my best.” Her upcoming role in the Sony LIV web series, Kaiyum Kalavum, written and directed by Roju and produced by Karthik Subbaraj, is of this kind. She plays a girl who is beset by misfortune. Another character in the series’ trailer even describes her as sodhappal rani (queen of failures).
“I am not necessarily attracted to characters that are just classy or perfect. I should be able to connect with them on some level. I am fascinated with characters that are a little salty, where they fight with themselves. I am inclined towards playing broken characters because, I think, in a way, we are all broken.”
Sanjana says Roju wanted her to play the character even as he was creating it. “He is one of the most comfortable directors I have worked with. He allowed me to explore the character. He told me, ‘You be yourself and let’s see where that goes.’ So, it was an interesting journey for me. Also, his way of storytelling is super-quirky. There is a bit of fantasy in it too. When you watch Kaiyum Kalavum, you will know that this is not something I have done before. So, I didn’t have much to think about signing up for the project.”
Kaiyum Kalavum was made before Sanchana did Jagame Thanthiram and Sarpatta Parambarai. This will be her second web series after As I Am Suffering From Kadhal directed by Balaji Mohan. A series usually offers more screen time than a film does. Though the series has a bunch of well-known actors like Senthil, Madonna Sebastian, Ramya Nambeesan, and Karu Palaniappan, she will feature in all the episodes. “Screentime-wise, it is my biggest project so far. But my performance doesn’t depend on whether it’s a series or a film; it depends on the character I play,” she adds.
Sanchana is also, in a way, fortunate to get characters written for her. Because Tamil cinema has been often criticised for not creating good enough characters for women. “Things are changing now though at a slow pace,” says Sanchana, “Even when someone comes me to narrate a story, I can see that the characters they offer me have some purpose in the story — they are not just there for the sake of having a female artist in the film. But things need to get better. There are still a lot of Tamil-speaking talented artists, who struggle to get a break.”
Kaiyum Kalavum is streaming on Sony LIV
