It was a surprise birthday present which arrived a day early and was dismissed as a prank by Divya Pillai. The surprise was a role in the film Ayal Njanalla, courtesy her best friend Ria.
It took a lot of convincing on Ria’s part to assure Divya that the offer was not a prank and that director Vineeth Kumar had spotted Divya’s pictures and found her to be ideal for the role of a happy-go-lucky but strong-willed college girl from Bengaluru.
Admitting that her tryst with acting happened only on the sets of the film, Divya nevertheless recalls, “When I was seven, my sister and I used to make up these little skits and force our parents and neighbours to watch us. We set up sheets as curtains and arranged chairs for them to sit, like a theatre! We eventually stopped because of lack of an audience.”
Divya was born and raised in Dubai and has completed her Electrical and Electronics Engineering and currently works for Flydubai as a senior administration officer.
She says at times she loves escaping to her hometown of Mavelikara to beat the 50ºC heat of Dubai.
Acting with the talent pool in Mollywood opened new creative vistas for Divya. She says, “Fahadh is a brilliant actor; it’s crazy how effortlessly he switches into the character. Acting is not easy; most times you would be staring at a dirty, broken wall but imagine it was the man of your dreams! And the camera would focus on your face; even a blink or a raised eyebrow and how much you open your lips makes a lot of difference. So most times I had trouble getting my expressions right and I remember complaining to Fahadh about the need to shoot close-ups, to which he replied that’s what separates cinema from other forms of art.”
About Vineeth she says, “I have never seen anyone who is so committed and passionate about what he does. If I did any justice to my character it was because of his guidance. He explains the part and gives the actor the freedom to perform in his own way first; he would only suggest his ideas if he thinks the actor can perform better.”
She adds that she cherishes her new-found friendships and some salsa and tango moves she learnt during the shoot.
