Aneesha Ummer got the kind of break budding actors could only dream of. She admits with a shy smile, “Yes, a huge break.” Aneesha is the girl who fell in love with the priest in the viral short film Ente Hridayathinte Vadakku Kizhakke Attathu (At the North East Corner of my Heart).
She has lost count of the number of interviews she has given over the past week. Taking a wild guess, she says, laughing, “May be 10 or 12!”
Speaking from a radio station which has invited her for yet another interview, she says, “Like any other upcoming actor, I too had wished for something like this. But such a response was really unexpected. That too, with one particular dialogue going viral.” The dialogue she refers to – Enthinada chakkare nee achan pattathinu poye? (Sweetheart, why did you join priesthood?) - took social media by storm.
How is she handling fame? “I have been struggling to get a platform like this for the past few years. Right now, I am loving it and enjoying the moment.”
A Zumba instructor in Kochi, Aneesha learnt about the auditions for the short film from a poster. “I went ahead and gave the audition and 20 days later, I got a call informing that I was selected.”
Many had wondered why she had a funny accent while delivering the dialogues. She explains, “I hail from Malappuram, but I was brought up in Gujarat. It's just been 3-4 years since I came to Kochi. So my Malayalam is not very fluent. I do know Gujarati well. My mother is here and my father is still working in Gujarat.”
Aneesha has been dreaming of taking up acting as a full-time profession. “My tryst with acting happened after I got a chance to act in a Kannada movie during my second year of graduation. But after that, I couldn't get good offers. And now, I have finally got a break,” she says.
She is currently awaiting the release of two more short films, one of which is an hour-long movie.
Aneesha is currently preparing to listen to a few scripts that have come her way. “There are 5-6 offers, but I haven't heard the script yet. As an actor, I am looking forward to trying out any role,” she winds up.
