Hyderabad: Making it big at a very young age and happy with the success of her debut Tollywood film, Esther Anil who played the role of Anu Venkatesh’s daughter in the hit film Drushyam is now a known face in the Telugu film industry and has won the hearts of many in the two states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
In a chat with DC, Esther speaks about her entry into Tollywood, her experience working with the stars, her future films and more.
Drishyam, the Malayalam film happened by chance, says Esther. “My family and I went to Cochin last year for a vacation. Director Jeethu Joseph was shooting in the same hotel, he approached us and told us about a movie that he was planning to make with Mohanlal uncle and asked me whether I would be interested to act as his daughter in the film. I was chosen to play the role of Anu in the film without auditions.”
Esther who is already a few films old in Malayalam movies, shared some interesting tidbits about her Tollywood debut, Esther says, “The Malayalam film was a huge success and I came to know that Drishyam was being remade in Telugu and that the makers were looking for a Telugu girl who could play my role. I was also invited for the auditions and was selected to play the role in Telugu as well” says the 13-year-old student of De Paul Public School in Wayanad, Kerala.
“I was excited about the Telugu version. Telugu was not difficult for me and I had my dialogues written in Malayalam, so it was easy. After the first three days of the shoot, I was really comfortable with the language,” she adds.
Sharing her experience of having worked with one of the biggest stars in South India, Venkatesh, Esther says, “It was a wonderful working with Venkatesh uncle. He is a down-to-earth person and has been really helpful throughout the shooting, in terms of my dialogues and with everything else. I worked with Meena aunty in the Malayalam version as well and we have become good friends.
It was wonderful to have worked with the entire team of Drushyam.”
The child actress has seen success in both the versions of her film. So have things changed for her back at home? “I do not think so. Everything is the same, but my friends are happy for me and they have been supporting me all through,” she says, adding, “Luckily, my acting and education have never clashed. It was during my final examinations last year that I was shooting for the Malayalam film. My school has been very supportive and it conducted a special examination for me after I had completed shooting. The shooting for the Telugu version took place during my summer vacations.”
Esther is now being flooded with offers. The child actor says, “A lot of directors have expressed interest in working with me, but I have not accepted any offers as my internal exams are going on. I will work in more films but only after making sure that my education is not affected.”
“I have been chosen to play the same role in the Tamil remake as well and the shooting of the film will start soon. I am excited to step into almost all South Indian film industries,” she adds.
