Grill Mill: Nadia

Actor Nadia

You are a name to reckon with on the big screen. What made you switch to the small screen?

It was purely accidental. I agreed to do the Jackpot show on Jaya TV mainly for three reasons — it's a popular show, caters to the family audience and requires very little of my time.

Do you think you can fill Kushboo's shoes?

If I do Jackpot, then it would be in Nadia's style. A survey has been done and I've polled most of the votes. So the organisers are confident I can pull it off.

You haven't got recognition in the form of awards for your work...

Honestly speaking, I don't have many films to my credit. But most of what I did were hits, so people still remember me. I did

Poove Poochudavaa in 1985 and worked for nearly three years in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam and did as many as 27 films. I quit films when I got married in 1988. I came back to acting in 2005 with

M. Kumaran Son of Mahalakshmi . I must thank God for making me a household name in Tamil Nadu in such a short span. I need to do more work if I should get awards.

At one point of time, you were a popular heroine. Now you appear in character roles. Do you think you have come one step down?

Certainly not. I'm proud of my age; I'm now doing roles that not only suit my age but are also powerful.