This Punjab di kudi is a long way from home but Mollywood has given Mansi Sharma a red carpet welcome so warm that she wished that the shooting would continue forever.
Mansi is debuting in Malayalam through Marthandan’s Acha Din opposite Mammootty. She is already a part of a Punjabi film as well as some noted commercials; it was one such commercial that caught the eye of the makers. Explaining the rest, she says, “I came to Kerala for a meeting and met Mammootty sir, who asked if I would be able to speak Malayalam and I replied that I would learn it.”
Mansi was asked by Marthandan to watch Malayalam movies to get an overall feel of the language and culture. She adds, “I did watch some movies which I could not understand initially but post the shoot of Acha Din, I was able to comprehend them better.”
Mansi plays a pregnant woman in the film and she says that the ‘pregnant hangover’ stayed with her even after the shoot was canned.
The baby bump also offered her some heavy problems because she had to wear the prosthetic the entire day, making sitting and lying down a chore.
She confesses to actually feeling pregnant by the time Acha Din was completed. Talking about the language barrier, she mentions the help she received from a girl called Lakshmi, who used to teach her the meaning of every word and used to write the dialogues in Hindi and English for Mansi to grasp better.
Like all newcomers who get charmed by Mammootty, Mansi terms him the ‘Amitabh Bachchan’ of Mollywood. She says, “He has done so many movies but he does not have any attitude problems.
He is very calm and I was understandably nervous not only with the prospect of working with him but also about being in an alien environment. But he made me feel very comfortable.
He used to constantly tease me about my baby bump asking if it was still there.” She narrates an incident, “I happened to see a poster of a film and enquired about the hero was and was surprised to know it was Mammootty’s son Dulquer Salmaan and I thought that I should work with him too.” Mansi also confesses to a love of chocolates and the entire set indulged her by gifting her chocolates and choco-chip cookies.
Mansi is also excited about a call she received from Farhan Akthar’s office for an audition, which she has given and is awaiting a reply.
