Inching towards the release of her 50th film with Kamal Haasan’s Cheekati Rajyam ( Thoongavanam in Tamil) in a tough cop avatar, Trisha, in her 12th year of filmdom, is enthusiastic to break free of preset images and diversify into untapped genres. “On a day where you feel low, these are numbers that push me hard to perform better. I now have the liberty to pick and choose what I do,” she starts off.
You can easily believe that given that she shall also be seen in consecutive horror films in Tamil, Nayaki and C Sundar's Aranmanai 2 (sequel to Chandrakala ), a genre she has taken up a tad late in her career.
“It’s got a lot to do with trends especially. We are in a phase where we see a lot of low-budget horror thrillers minting gold at the box-office. It’s a space that’s exciting, unreal and scary. Nayaki was the first horror film I’d signed. My manager (Giridhar) and I were due for a project together for a long time. Meanwhile, for script reasons and the huge brand that Aranmanai was, I didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity for a sequel. It’s a happy coincidence,” she says.
She is wrapping up Memu , a thriller where she plays the lead protagonist. “I feel I’ve been long enough in the industry to rally a film around myself. Something like Arundhati has eased my nerves about that. Had I been offered such films early in my career, I would have given it a second thought,” Trisha states.
At a time when she’s getting to work with actors, directors, like Siddharth, Kamal Haasan, Ganesh Venkatraman, Ajith and Gautham Menon second time around, the comfort levels on the sets have taken a big leap, she reveals. “In a long career, this is bound to happen. The easier aspect is that you know each of their working styles and can adapt accordingly.”
Talking about Yentha Vaadu Gaanie ( Yennai Arindhaal in Tamil), where she shed stereotypes by playing a divorcee, a mother to a child and stepping into a relationship with an unmarried cop, she shares, “I turned down the film for it was also a two-heroine project with my part having shorter length. Over time though, the Gautham Menon factor convinced me enough on the portrayal. It’s only after a part like Hemanika that people realised I could come close to a certain Jessie ( Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya-VTV ). Looking back, I feel it would have been the biggest regret of my career hadn’t I taken up the role,” she confesses. Meanwhile, clearing the air about occasional reports of a supposed sequel to VTV, she dismisses them and is of the opinion that the film rather be left untouched.
Her films, excepting for Yentha Vaadu Ganie , be it Lion or Sakalakala Vallavan , this year, the results haven’t been all that heartening. Has the way she’s handled success and failure changed over the years? “In my early days probably, failure didn’t matter. Even the choices I took weren’t those templated ones. But now, it affects me inside. Before coming to the industry too, I knew how to handle my highs and lows. Regarding success though, I try to relish it supremely,” Trisha shares.
Given her following in both Tamil and Telugu, it’s timely that the actress has opened up to more bilinguals, ( Cheekati Rajyam, Nayaki, Memu ) helping her reduce the time-gap between each of her films in the industries. She feels there are advantages and disadvantages. “Positively, you get to do two films at once. On the flipside, it’s tedious to do the same shot yet again,” the actress opines.
Has she noticed any differences in Kamal Haasan from the time of Manmadha Banam ( Manamadhan Ambu in Tamil) to Cheekati Rajyam ? “His method, the way he conducts rehearsals, has remained the same. It’s perfect homework (script) when you know not only about your role in the movie, but also are provided with a wholesome view of the film and its atmosphere. It’s more special for me this time, as I have a special action block with him. It was a good change to take on a hero,” she laughs. The film, releasing for Diwali, she adds, is an intelligent thriller, apt for today’s audience.
Amidst the experienced bandwagon, most of her upcoming releases have been helmed by relative newcomers, something, which she’s done a lot in the past too. She clarifies, “Once I enter on the sets, whatever you say, the maker is the captain of the ship. When I officially sign a script, I don’t bother myself about their records, credentials. For instance, a one-film old Govi is as particular and tough as any other director around.”
There’s a lot being written about her personal life, with her engagement being called off, and talk of relationships with co-stars. She is not worried. “In each of the cases, only I know what and why those things happened. There are presumptions when you don’t know the truth. If similar things were written about my contemporaries, maybe I’d have trusted them. It’s really alright,” Trisha takes a chill pill.
