Her role in the recently-released Sarvam Thaala Mayam ( STM ) brings a weight of expectation for Aparna Balamurali. “After Kajal and Aishwarya Rai, Rajiv sir has chosen me as heroine for his film. Those two actors are a class apart and I am just a beginner. Coming as the third female lead in a Rajiv Menon film, people are expecting a lot from me,” says the actor over phone.
As Jimsy in Maheshinte Prathikaaram, the role found her many fans, and was instrumental in landing her STM . “The role came to me through my other Tamil film, 8 Thottakkal , directed by Sri Ganesh sir.” She was called for an audition; Rajiv had seen her work in Maheshinte... and was impressed with it.
Aparna essays a Malayali nurse, Sara, who works in Chennai, in the film. Not prone to making impulsive decisions, Sara complements GV Prakash’s character.
“She is an independent, mature woman. She is not impulsive; she remains that way when GV’s character comes into her life. Since she is practical, it helps him in his life as well.” The film, and the subject, she says, would resonate irrespective of language — since it is about the teacher-student relation, music and the politics of it.
Aparna is all praise for Rajiv’s curiosity about the latest in the industry. “His biggest advantage was that he wanted to know what is happening in the industry, since he was making a film after 16-17 years. He’d ask about how it is to work in Malayalam films or working with Dileesh Pothan. Or if films these days are too dramatic, or realistic. He learns from everyone; for the promotions, he did many things we do these days — the Tik Tok Challenge and Smule — for instance.”
A singer herself, she says it was all music even during filming breaks. “All of us have a musical background. GV Prakash and his wife are musicians. Rajiv sir’s mother is a great singer, and everything about him is about music. He starts and ends everything with music. Each time there was a break, music would be the main topic.”
GV Prakash too impressed her with his commitment as musician and actor; the music composer/singer took time off to learn the mridangam for the role. “There was sync sound, so it was important for GV to do what he did — learning the instrument. It makes a difference.”
Two of her films, one in Tamil and the other in Malayalam ( Allu Ramendran ), released on the same day. And with the release of Jeethu Joseph’s Mr & Ms Rowdy , Aparna sees three releases in the span of a month. It’s not a first for her though — Sunday Holiday , Thrissivaperoor Kliptham and Sarvopari Palakkaran all released in the span of a month. But the last two-odd years have been eventful for the student of architecture, a ride that she is enjoying.
