‘I’d Be Very Happy Not Being In The Spotlight’

‘I’ve
never
done
anything
cliche
and
I’ve
never
got
anything
cliche.’
Text:
Divya
Nair/Rediff.com.
Videos:
Rajesh
Karkera/Rediff.com

It
is
not
every
day
that
you
get
to
meet
an
artiste
whose
work
has
charmed
audiences
across
languages
and
borders.

An
exceptional
actor
whose
ability
to
surrender
to
the
character
and
explore
its
versatility
and
nuances,

Nithya
Menen
is
known
to
effortlessly
breathe
life
into
the
characters
she
has
played
on
screen.

Be
it
the
bubbly,
no-strings-attached
girlfriend
Tara
in

O
Kadhal
Kanmani
that
established
her
as
everyone’s
forever
crush.

Or
the
vulnerable
mother
cum
chef
Abha
Agarwal
who
is
grieving
her
missing
child
in

Breathe:
Into
The
Shadows
and
is
willing
to
go
to
any
lengths
to
save
her
from
the
kidnapper.

Her
earnest
portrayal
of
Shobana,
a
childhood
friend
and
lover
in
the
film

Thiruchitrambalam,
a
role
that
won
her
the
National
Award
for
the
Best
Actress
(alongside
Mansi
Parekh),
is
a
well-deserved
feather
in
her
15-year-old
film
career
spanning
five
languages,
Malayalam,
Hindi,
Tamil,
Kannada,
and
Telugu.

Like
everyone
else,
I
was
curious
to
meet
and
find
out
who
the
real
Nithya
Menen
was.

After
a
wait
of
two
hours
or
more
at
the
Sun
and
Sand
Hotel
in
Mumbai,
it
was
our
turn
to
set
up
the
camera.

“Can
I
skip
the
earrings
for
this
one?”
Nithya
requested
one
of
her
younger
crew
members
who
carefully
adjusted
the
actor’s
hair
and
approved
the
close-up
camera
angle
we
had
set
up
for
the
interview.

“Oh,
you
are
not
using
lights?
Great!”
she
said
as
her
expressive
eyes
instantly
lit
up
with
child-like
enthusiasm.

Ditching
her
fancy
heels,
Nithya
wasted
no
time
as
she
quickly
slid
into
a
pair
of
comfy
footwear
and
sat
relaxed
sipping
a
hot
cup
of
water.

No
tantrums.

No
starry

nakhras.

No
calls
to
assistants
for
touch-ups
or
to
check
her
make-up.

Dressed
in
a
mustard
yellow
salwar
suit
and
a
printed

dupatta
wrapped
around
her
neck,
Nithya
came
across
as
someone
who
takes
pride
in
her
work
and
is
confident
and
comfortable
in
her
skin.

Nithya,
welcome
to
Bombay.

Congratulations
on
winning
the
National
Award,
a
long
overdue
recognition
for
you.
I’m
sure,
everyone
has
asked
you
this
question
and
you’ve
answered
this
before:
What
were
your
thoughts
when
your
name
was
announced
for
the
National
Award?

I
think
my
first
reaction
was
utter
disbelief.

I
didn’t
know
that
it
was
being
announced.
I’m
usually
pretty
unaware
of
these
things,
so
I
had
no
idea.

It
was
Dhanush
who
called
me
and
said,
‘Congratulations’.

I
was
just
about
to
start
eating,
so
I
said,
‘For
what?’

He
said,
‘What
do
you
mean,
for
what?
You
just
got
the
National
Award
for
our
film.’

So,
yeah,
I
couldn’t
process
it
for
a
second.

I
said,
‘Really?’

I
couldn’t
believe
it.

What
does
this
recognition
mean
for
you
personally
and
professionally?
Were
you
expecting
it
earlier
or
do
you
think
it
has
come
at
the
right
time?

I
mean,
I
was
(expecting
it).

I’ve
always
chosen
films
from
a
different
place.

So
when
I
started
my
career,
I
felt
that
I
should
do
happy
films.
I
should
do
lighter
films.

I
was
purposely
picking
and
consciously
choosing
those
kinds
of
films,
films
that
are
light,
films
that
make
people
happy,
and
stuff.

So
in
my
mind,
you
know,
I
decided
that
I
want
to
do
films
that
make
people
happy.
That’s
what
I
should
do
with
this
profession
that
I’ve
been
gifted
with.

That’s
been
my
journey
for
the
past
10,
15
years.

I’ve
never
done
anything
cliche
and
I’ve
never
got
anything
cliche.

I
was
kind
of
getting
used
to
that.
It’s
fine.
I’ll
do
things
differently.

So,
yeah,
it
(winning
the
award)
was
a
surprise.

Do
you
think

Thiruchitrambalam
was
an
unusual
choice
for
a
National
Award
because
as
an
audience,
we
are
used
to
seeing
films
with
serious
subjects
and
characters
being
nominated
for
the
title?

What
was
it
like
working
with
Dhanush?
You
are
collaborating
with
him
again
in

Idli
Kadai.

You
started
as
a
child
artist.
Was
it
a
conscious
decision
to
get
into
films
when
you
grew
up?
Or
would
you
have
rather
chosen
something
else?

It
would
sound
very
ungrateful
if
I
said
I
would
rather
choose
something
else,
but
yeah,
if
I
had
to
pick
something
that
was
closer
to
my
personality,
it
would
surely
not
be
anything
close
to
entertainment.

I
would
be
very,
very,
happy
not
being
in
the
spotlight.

I
would
be
better
off
with(out)
the
camera.

Do
you
mean
the
camera
or
spotlight
makes
you
feel
conscious?

Not
conscious.
Obviously,
I
wouldn’t
be
able
to
perform
the
way
I
did
if
I
was
conscious.

It’s
just
that
(acting)
is
not
very
conducive
to
the
kind
of
personality
that
I
am.

You
mentioned
that
you
are
very
selective
about
the
kind
of
roles
you
play.
What
really
drives
you
about
a
project?

This
is
something
everyone
asks
me,
‘What’s
in
a
script?’

There
is
no
checklist.

It
doesn’t
work
like
that.
Every
script
is
so
different.

Every
human
being
is
so
different.
The
way
they
approach
you
with
something
is
so
different.

It’s
always
a
different
feeling,
a
different
reason
why
you
say
yes
to
something.

I
think
I
go
with,
a
gut
feeling
more
than
anything
else.

I
don’t
think
too
much
about
it.

I
don’t
think
later
about
the
consequences
—
how
big
is
the
film,
who
else
is
there
in
the
film,
what
am
I
going
to
be?
I
don’t
think
too
much
about
it.

Definitely,
there
has
to
be
a
story
that
I
want
to
tell.
It
should
have
some
depth.

My
character
should
have
some
depth,
something
that
excites
the
artist
in
me.

If
it’s
something
I
have
never
done
before,
then
I
get
very
excited.
Oh,
that’s
a
new
thing
I
can
explore!