How it happened
I started as a child artiste and slowly became a heroine. My first film was the Vinayan-directed Dada Sahib in Malayalam with Mammootty in the lead. I have done nearly 30 films in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu as a child star. When Vinayan made Nalai Namathe in Tamil, he introduced me as a grown-up girl in it. I followed it up with Renigunta .
How it felt
As a child, I did what I was told by my mother and director. The happiness at seeing myself on the screen as a heroine was immeasurable. I watched both the films ( Nalai Namathe and Renigunta ) with my family — one in Chennai and the other at Palani. During the intermission, people came forward to appreciate my performance.
How life changed
A lot. When I was a child, I was carefree. With age comes maturity, and this reflects in my acting too. Nandi , my latest film, is to be released soon — I'm waiting to see the result. So, acting has become my profession, and academics, a hobby.
