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Star in the making

With three years in tinseldom and two super hits, Sandhya is blazing a trail

PHOTO: K.ANANTHAN

CLIMBING UP THE LADDER Sandhya.

Three years and two releases, both of which rocked the silver screen. That's actress Sandhya for you. Her debut, Kaadhal, where she played a schoolgirl who elopes with a mechanic won many hearts. In between, she journeyed to the Malayalam film world to essay the role of a mentally disturbed girl in Sibi Malayil's Alice in Wonderland.

This year, she set the screen afire in Dishyum, where she portrayed an art student caught in a clash of hearts with a stuntmaster played by Jeeva. And, being described by legendary director K. Balachander as the `Saritha' of 2006, was the icing on the cake.

"I am happy with the response to Dishyum. Sasi sir (director) helped me a lot and we had a great time during the shoot. But, I was a little tense before its release because a movie of mine was coming out after a long time," she says.

How easy was it to shift gears, considering that people still remember her as Aishwarya, the character she played in Kaadhal? "True, even now, people think of me as Aishwarya. But, I hope to make them forget that with my other roles. I am choosing roles with care and trying to make a mark," she says.

Did entering the film world at 16 put paid to her dreams of living a typical teenager's life? She smiles and says, "When you need something, you have to pay the price for it."

Does she miss her school friends and regret dropping out? "Not really. In a way, cinema is like school. In school, I learn subjects. Here, I learn acting. And, there are exams here too — when a movie gets released," she justifies.

She is now shooting with Mammootty for Prajapati (Malayalam), directed by Ranjith. For someone who grew up idolising him, working with the award-winning actor was a dream come true. "He teaches me and makes me feel comfortable on the sets," she says.

But, acting in a language you don't know is not much fun, she says. She knows Malayalam (mother tongue) and Tamil (she grew up here).

"When you act in an alien language, you concentrate on getting the dialogue right. Expressions come second. While acting in a familiar tongue, you understand the nuances and perform better."

Her only grouse is that no one takes her seriously in any film unit.

However young a unit is, she is still the youngest. "So, no one spares any opportunity to tease me," she says in mock seriousness.

SUBHA J RAO

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