Ever since her debut on big screen with Mammootty in Arayannangalude Veedu, Malayalis have loved Lakshmi Gopalaswami not only for her onscreen performances but also for her beauty and grace. Lakshmi, who was also lately seen on television as a judge in a dance reality show, is now back on the big screen with Kambhoji, which is expected to release this month.
The role seems tailor-made for Lakshmi. Speaking over phone from her hometown Bengaluru, Lakshmi explains: “This role is very dear to my heart, because it is somebody that I aspire to be and it is a lot of me also. I play the character Uma Namboothiri, a Brahmin woman immersed in art. And because this story is set in the 1970s, it has a kind of a pace that I relish in real life as well. I like being slightly slow paced, I like my time!”
Speaking more about Uma, she says: “The sense of romance in her life, it is not just romancing the hero or the protagonist who is a Kathakali artiste but even the whole air of romance that she portrays is very artistic. She plays the love interest of Kunjunni played by Vineeth, but she is also well versed in the art. Uma is proficient in Mohiniyattam, Bharatanatyam and has a keen sense of music. Her parents, though they are Brahmins, are very liberal. For instance, if she likes a man from a lower caste they are alright with it.”
The movie Kambhoji is touted as a musical thriller written and directed by Vinod Mankara. It is supposedly inspired by a real life incident that occurred in the Malabar region in the early ’70s.
Lakshmi’s voice has excitement as she elaborates about her role in the movie. But she wouldn’t go so far as to say she was waiting for a role like this from the Malayalam film industry. “But I feel super glad to play this role. I love to act, I love to dance and I must say I am very glad it all came together naturally in this film. I am very pleased that all these faculties came into use.”
Despite being a dancer, Lakshmi had to put in an extra effort to portray Uma Namboothiri. “I am playing a Mohiniyattam dancer in the film. Though I am a dancer, my body nuances are that of Bharatanatyam. So to get perfection in the style (Mohinayattam) was a bit of a struggle. On an average, it is easy to pick up the movements. But to get the nuances professionally right was quite a struggle. But I really enjoyed the struggle, because all of us were trying to attain this authenticity.”
On working with Vinod Mankara, Lakshmi says, “Vinod Mankara is a man of very keen observation and a perfectionist. He was never okay with a take until he felt that the nuances came out. It was very tiring at times because we were in a costume and make up. But at the end of the day, you know you are striving to attain perfection. I enjoyed it, I loved moving my body in the Mohiniyattam style, and the body control that came with this style.”
This is the second time she is sharing screen space with actor Vineeth. “We have previously done a movie called Thathwamasi. That was a smaller role. But this is really a serious film, a full-fledged romantic role, in that way one could say it was the first time. There was a comfort factor here. Funny thing is there was a lot of comfort, but I was also very scared about that because we are so comfortable I might just burst out giggling here and there because I know him so well. I have danced with him for so long that we have become good friends. Luckily nothing of that sort happened,” she laughs.
Does she keep a deliberate gap between her projects in Malayalam? “No it is not deliberate. I did two projects last, unfortunately both bombed at the box office, so they went unnoticed. One was Mathayi Kuzhapakaranalla and Ammakkoru Thaarattu. But I have been doing projects in other languages, though not many. I did Vidaaya that got me the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress in 2014. The movie released last year. The film was on euthanasia. It is one of those rare challenging roles where I had to carry the whole film on my shoulders. I’ve also done a Tamil film, which is doing the festival rounds now. A Kannada movie is waiting for release.”
