In a regular film, actors exchange dialogues with each other. But when it comes to a horror film, how do you react to situations when the only company you have is a ghost?
Debutant actress Anisha Victor’s portrayal of Jenny in the recently released Tamil film Aval is being praised. Jenny is a young woman who is possessed by a ghost that makes her do impossible things; for instance, walk into a well. Later it leads her to the brink of a precipice. When her family brings in the church pastor to exorcise the spirit, Jenny turns into an aggressive being who hurls people around. Jenny is otherwise a cool teenager.
Victor played Jenny with a finesse that made it real. The Mumbai-based model is over the moon with compliments pouring in.
In an exclusive interview with Gulf News tabloid!, Victor speaks about her acting dreams and finding her place.
How did Aval happen?
I attended the auditions last July. Three weeks later I was surprised to receive a call from the team, asking me to report at Ooty where the shooting was planned. It was my first visit to Tamil Nadu. I had no clue about the language and was nervous initially.
How did you prepare for the scenes where you are possessed?
I am a fan of horror films and have watched many films. Scenes from them have stayed in my mind. I drew inspiration from them. One hour before the shoot I prepared to get into that mode.
Physically, the scenes were draining as I had a harness on my legs all the time. We worked for around 16 hours every day. The language was a barrier too. Helping through was director Milind and Siddharth. Atul sir whose daughter I play in the story was a big support.
What about the best moments of Aval?
I enjoyed doing the cliff scene [where Jenny stands at the edge of a precipice]. It felt very liberating looking down and mind you I had no harness then.
Tell us about your acting dreams.
Ever since I can remember, I was fascinated by films. Acting lets you be yourself. I am not cut out for a nine to five corporate job. I wanted to become an actor. After my graduation, I moved to Mumbai from Delhi. I attended Barry John’s acting classes.
For a while I did work in a corporate set up to pay my acting fees and also interned with a fashion choreographer. From modelling to doing television commercials, I was looking for that break into cinema when Aval happened.
What’s next?
I have completed an Indo-American film, titled The Field. It’s a crime drama directed by Rohit Karn Batra and features Brendan Fraser, Rohit Roy and Abhai Deol in the lead. My character Seema is completely different from Jenny.
Aval’s Hindi version titled, The House Next Door, and Telugu version Gruham release in India on November 10.
