“No regrets, whatsoever. I am taking things as they come,” Aparna Nair sounds matter-of-fact and candid when we ask her about the quiet year that has gone by for her as an actress. She did just a handful of movies and except for Seconds , the others went unnoticed.
“There were movies that got delayed and those that never reached theatres. For instance, Streetlights , which had me playing a girl abused by her father and who rises up against many odds, didn’t reach the theatres. Seconds , directed by Aneesh Upasana, was released after a lot of delay. And then there were many films that I didn’t take up and that decision eventually turned out to be right because those movies didn’t do well. So, on the whole, I did put in my best, but somehow things were destined otherwise,” says the actress who debuted in 2007 with Nivedyam .
Right through her career, Aparna hasn’t had a large screen time in most of her movies. But she always left a mark with the roles she got. Be it in Cocktail, Beautiful, Thattathin Marayathu, Run Baby Run, Mallu Singh or Mumbai Police .
Then there was the play Chayamukhi where she shared the stage with Mohanlal and Mukesh.
“People always ask me why I don’t get lead roles. I keep telling that my priority is always good script. If the storyline is good, even if you have a small role, that gets noticed. What is the use of doing a lead role and nobody turns up to watch the movie?,” she says.
Therefore, instead of just ruing over lost opportunities and poor box office results, she prefers to look ahead. In fact, she is pretty excited about the new year. “I have completed shoot for an offbeat film, Thamara , directed by debutant Prakash Vadikkal. I play a fisherwoman, Thamara, who holds her fort against many problems related to the river by which she lives. The movie, which has river in all its frames, reflects on exploitation of our natural resources and how that affects the lives of people who depend on it,” she says.
She is also doing a film by Sherry who directed the acclaimed Adimadhyantham and has completed the shoot for a suspense thriller St Marysile Kolapathakam . “I don’t want to become an artiste who is busy throughout the year. That doesn’t mean I am being choosy. In fact, I am aware of the fact there is always a limit to the kind of roles which come to me. So, I am selecting from whatever is being offered to me,” she asserts.
As for her New Year resolutions, she plans to concentrate more on her dance practice. An accomplished dancer during her school and college days, she is trained in classical dances and Kathakali.
Offscreen
* Aparna always impresses with her dressing style and jewellery she wears. “I love wearing traditional jewellery. Most of them have been part of my family’s collection, some of which dates back to the period of the kings. One of them is a nagapadamala. I am also fond of wearing silver jewellery and is quite crazy about nose rings these days!”
* She loves to read and is a music buff. Of late she has taken to baking and “spends quite a lot of time in the kitchen experimenting with the dishes.”
