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The chimmy chimmy girl

PHOTO: V.RAJU

sensible Nitya Menon belongs to the school of spontaneous acting

A curly mop of hair, a regular pair of jeans, a simple top and a brilliant, charming smile – Nithya Menon may well be the average and pretty girl next door. And sensible, besides.

Nithya, of the Chimmy chimmy minni thilangunna… ( Urumi) fame, was in Kochi as part of the promotion of 180 a Tamil-Telugu bi-lingual film directed by Jayendra scheduled for release shortly, in which she stars opposite Siddharth.

Destiny's call

Acting was not part of her plans, she says, it was destiny rather. Her first Malayalam film, Akasha Gopuram (2008), was opposite Mohanlal. A debut film with Mohanlal! That is the stuff of celluloid dreams. But Nithya doesn't think it was a big deal.

This is someone who started out wanting to be a journalist and then wanted to do a course in cinematography but eventually chose acting. It's no wonder then that she calls it destiny.

She had just finished her Class 12 examinations and the vacations were weighing heavily on her. “I was worried about what I would do during my holidays.” That's when she was offered the film. “It was a holiday and in London too,” she says.

Nithya was last seen in Urumi as a princess called Bala, a role, she says, Santosh Sivan wrote for her. “I just had to be myself for the role. The character was based on Santosh Sivan's perception of who I am.” She belongs to the school of spontaneous acting and not method acting. She says that she does not think or worry too much about her roles. “If you worry too much it shows in your acting and it ceases to be effortless.”

Her other Malayalam films which are due for release are Karmayogi, directed by V.K. Prakash and Violin, by Sibi Malayil. Besides Malayalam, she is busy with films in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. In her first Malayalam film she acted opposite a senior actor and her subsequent films were with those closer to her age (Sibi Malayil's Apoorvaragam, for instance).

How different was one from the other? “It is good to work with people closer your age. With experience the equation tilts. It becomes more about protocol, but with your age group, it is less formal.”

So, how was her experience working with Siddharth in 180, who is a senior? “Working with a good artiste is always a pleasure. If you get a reaction from your co-star, then you get the space to perform well.”

Chatting with her, one is reminded of that spirited girl in the Happy Journey segment of Kerala Café directed by Anjali Menon. “That was my kind of film. I enjoyed acting in it and it ranks high on my list of films.” Which means that when and if Nithya turns cinematographer, which was her first ambition, we can look forward to some good films.

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