It was her grandparents’ extreme desire to see their granddaughter on the big screen that persuaded Nithya Naresh, a Tollywood actress, to send in her biodata for a role in actor-director-writer Balachandra Menon’s upcoming movie Ennalum Sharath. “I am a half-Malayali and I visit Kerala every year as my grandparents are here. Both of them have an extreme inclination towards movies so much so that for past 30 years, there hasn’t probably been any Sunday when my grandfather has not taken my grandmom out for a dinner and movie. They were very happy when I started getting offers from Telugu movies. However, they wanted to see me in Malayalam movies as well and it was my grandmom who saw an advertisement in the paper, wherein the casting call for Ennalum Sharath was made. She forced me to send in my bio-data and the movie happened.”
However, Nithya’s profile caught Balachandra Menon’s wife’s attention and the newbie was invited by him to come down to Kochi. After which, they zeroed in on Nithya for the role of Michelle in his upcoming suspense-thriller Ennalum Sharath, which takes place in the backdrop of a college. Elaborating about her role in the movie, Nithya says, “Michelle is a very confident tomboy and a fearless character who is extremely supportive and protective towards her loved ones. The movie travels through her relationship with best friend Elizabeth, played by debutant Nidhi Suresh, and how she becomes a support system for Elizabeth in various odd situations that becomes the crux of the story”
Talking highly about her director, the actor adds that she has had never seen a director before who diligently works on the script. “It was the best acting school I could enrol in. He could bring out the best in me, at times when even I was unsure of myself. Balachandra Menon as we all know is a legend. He very well understands the pulse of his audiences and constantly remains updated so that his movies too can deliver what the present audience requires. We celebrated his 70th birthday on the sets. But the entire cast and crew could undoubtedly say, he is the youngest man in our team,” she giggles.
Nithya, who is four-movies-old in Telugu, though was keen to enter the world of cinema, acting was not anywhere in her agenda. “I have studied filmmaking and wanted to work as an assistant director with a leading production house like Dharma productions. However, it was in between all that when I did a photo shoot that the director of my first Telugu movie noticed it and approached me for a role. I decided to give it a try as I have done theatre and have a flair for acting as well,” she says, adding that it has only been two years since she has started approaching movies with utmost seriousness as the directors are demanding more from her as an actor and she takes it with complete sportsmanship.
