Being in the limelight for 30 years is no small feat and actress Sithara is basking in the glory of having achieved that. Even though, of late, she has not been prolific in Malayalam, she has been busy with films in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. She is shooting for a Telugu film, Shankarabharanam in Hyderabad when we catch up with her. The next day she is travelling to Kochi for promotion of her new Malayalam movie, Saigal Padukayanu , directed by veteran Sibi Malayil.
Sithara, last seen in Black Butterflies , is enthused to be back in Malayalam with a Sibi Malayil movie. “He is the only reason why I signed this movie. I have been waiting for a chance to work with him and finally it has happened,” says Sithara. In fact when she was approached for the role she was already busy with her projects in Telugu, Kannada and Tamil. “I somehow managed to shuffle the dates of my projects so that I could work with him. He also adjusted the dates to suit my convenience,” she adds.
The film is special for the actress in that she plays different phases of her character, Sujatha, right from the age of 25 to 50. “Sibi sir had seen an advertisement in which I played the mother as well as the daughter. Perhaps that’s from where he got the idea of casting me. However, he later told me that he had his doubts whether I would be ready to play a 50-year-old woman. I never wanted to miss a chance to work with him. But that doesn’t imply that I am open to doing similar roles in future,” she says.
Sithara plays the wife of Madhupal, a music director, and mother of the character Chandrababu, enacted by Shine Tom Chacko.
“The movie tackles a socially relevant subject that has its bearing on the life of Chandrababu and his family. Sujatha, who loses her husband, is caught in the emotional turmoil. Playing an aged character was a challenge in itself. I not only had to look old with the help of make-up but also had to behave like a grandmother. You can be as young as you want, but bringing in the body language of an old woman has its difficulties. However Sibi sir moulded me in such a way that I managed to do it,” says Sithara.
She is working with T. A. Razak, who scripted her movie Vachanam, after a long gap.
Cut to 1985 when this actress with the girl-next-door looks endeared herself to Malayalis with the movie Kaveri directed by Rajeevnath. Then came a string of interesting roles in movies such as Oridathu, Jathakam, Mazhavil Kavadi, Chamayam and others, before K. Balachander gave her a big break in Tamil with Puthu Puthu Arthangal . From there she moved on to Telugu and Kannada. “In all the languages I debuted with the best in the business. Even when Malayali audiences were wondering where I had disappeared to, I was busy with films in Kannada and Telugu. In fact, between 1993 and 1997 I did 30-plus movies in Kannada. K. S. Ravikumar then brought me back into Tamil with Natpukkage and Padayappa ,” she says. In between she also acted in serials in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam.
With an enviable portfolio in Telugu and Kannada, she feels at home there. While her new Kannada movie Iravatha , in which she is paired with Ananth Nag is already in theatres, her last Telugu release Sreemandudu was a huge hit. “Recently I also tried humour for the first time in the Telugu flick Bale Bale Magadiyov ,” she says with a laugh. She came back to Malayalam after a gap of 11 years through Rajasenan’s Bharya Onnu Makkal Moonu in 2009.
“I was part of Malayalam cinema when it was at its best. The industry has changed a lot. But I am quite perplexed by the term ‘new generation’. What exactly do you mean by that? The stories and emotions are just the same, it is just that new people have entered the industry. People have always loved good cinema. So when you talk about the so-called new generation style of filmmaking, what have you got to say about the success of Ennu Ninte Moideen ? How can you call that a new generation movie when it is actually a real life story narrated beautifully on the celluloid?” she wonders.
Before winding up, we ask her how she looks the same after all these years. “I don’t like putting on weight. I had to increase five kilos for Saigal Padukayanu and I’m trying to shed that. I do yoga and exercise and am careful about my diet,” she signs off.
