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Simple Samvrutha

Photo: Thulasi Kakkat

Family girl Samvrutha Sunil is game for any good role. Left, with Prithiviraj in ’Thirakkatha’ yet to be released

One minute Samvrutha Sunil is the proverbial girl next door, the next minute as she strikes a pose as the camera starts shooting, she transforms and becomes the actor that she is. Forget the nasty cold that is threatening to show up, the ‘Pacha pananthatha’ is a thorough professional. Acting in films was the furthest thing for this girl from Kannur. The closest she came to the business of films as a kid was the filming of Kamal’s ‘Ayaal Kathayezhuthukayanu.’

“My uncle’s house was the location for a wedding scene in the film, the assistant directors rounded up us kids for the scene and me and my cousins played along just for the fun of it,” says Samvrutha. There is that teeny-weeny shot of Samvrutha walking past the screen in the film. The fun of watching that film being shot had more to do with getting an autograph from Mohanlal. , Later, “for a combination scene with Lalettan for ‘Chandrolsavam,’ the rehearsals went on fine till the final take when Lalettan came face to face with me…I went blank. Nothing. Director Ranjith couldn’t understand what was going on. I was just so awestruck.”

If Samvrutha made her debut as the lead heroine in ‘Rasikan,’ she was one of the characters in ‘Nerariyan CBI,’ a pivotal but not the main lead in ‘Arabikatha.’ She was one of the heroines in films such as ‘Achanurangathu Veedu,’ ‘Chocolates,’ ‘Classmates’ and ‘Minnaminnikkoottam.’ This eclectic choice of roles is intriguing. “If post-Rasikan I had insisted on doing only the lead, then I would probably be sitting at home. I may not have landed all these wonderful roles. It was a compromise for good roles. Character roles are okay with me, I just want to be part of good cinema.” The desire to be part of good cinema is what led her to offbeat films such as ‘Bhumi Malayalam’ and ‘Kaalchilambu.’ In this film about Theyyam, Samvrutha portrays a princess from the Chirakkal family.

“As an actor it is thrilling for me because I get to portray the character from 18 to 45.” ‘Achanurangathu Veedu’ was her ‘Eureka’ movie. “Till I did that film I had no clarity in terms of why I was acting or for that matter, whether I even wanted to act. With that film everything became clear,” says Samvrutha. The movie was dark and heavy, she says. Shooting for the film was an intensely emotional experience, “none of us needed glycerine, there was complete empathy. We all could relate to what was happening.”

If one film was to decide the course of her career, it is another film that did not happen that she can’t bear to watch. “I was supposed to do ‘Nandanam,’ but because my exams were due I could not act in that film and that left me very disappointed. Even today when I see that film I feel a deep sense of loss because I could not act in that film.” That was not just her first jinx, before that there was Ranjith’s ‘Hello’ which too did not materialise. She of the flowing tresses, chopped off her hair for the role that did not happen. That is when she decided that she had had enough of films and continued her studies at St. Teresa’s. Karma had other things in store for her – so films it was.

Films are not part of her long term plans for there is the MBA degree. “I know that after a while it will be time to quit, I want to leave with dignity (I don’t plan on leaving any time soon, by the way) and when I do that I don’t want to sit at home doing nothing. If I don’t have a problem then I will stay at home but otherwise I would want to work and for that only a sound education will help,” says Samvrutha, adding that she has missed quite a few classes due to her schedule.

The film industry is a notoriously lonely place, of friendships of convenience or none at all. “There are genuine friendships in our (Malayalam) industry unlike the Tamil or the Telugu film industry where friendships tend to be artificial. I just met up with Bhavana and Remya (Nambisan) yesterday. Gopika too is a good friend,” she says.

She has acted in a Tamil film, ‘Uyir’ opposite Srikanth, and the Telugu remake of ‘Lion’ – ‘Evadithe Nakenti.’ But, she says she is quite content “here” (the Malayalam film industry) and has no intentions of “migrating.” That is not to say that she is ruling out working outside, it is just that she has some conditions such as a good script, a comfortable ambience etc.

It is all work, work and some more work. “Onam, Vishu? We (the film industry) have no such days. This time because I am in Kannur shooting for ‘Bhumi Malayalam’, I may be home for Onam,” she signs off.

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