Sweet and charming — that is Keerthy Suresh. And, the best thing about her is that she never forgets to reply to your text messages requesting for an interview.
The youngest daughter of Malayali actress Menaka and Malayali producer Suresh Kumar, Suresh debuted with Priyadarshan’s Geethanjali in Malayalam.
After her second Malayalam film, Ring Master, Keerthi entered Tamil cinema with Idhu Enna Mayam. Since then there has been no looking back and the busy actress is now working on a Vijay film. Thodari is her first with Prabhu Solomon and Dhanush.
Excerpts from a chat with Suresh.
Role play
“I play Saroja, a touch-up artist for an actress. She is a Malayali and there is an innocence to her character.”
Difficult scenes
“Prabhu sir made the scenes appear easy. There is a portion in the second half where I had to stand close to [a train] engine. It was very hot and the train was moving at high speed. And, I had to run through a narrow passage. I did not realise then that they were risky shots until people came up and wondered how I had managed them.
Dhanush sir and I stood on the train and we danced on a running train with nothing to hold onto. I enjoyed these new challenges. I went with the flow. It was while dubbing when I realised the seriousness. How did I do that? I wondered.
My director is amazing. He loves to teach and acts to demonstrate each scene. He makes it simple. And, also listens to our suggestions. I have a wonderful chemistry with him.
For the dance scene on the train, there was no choreographer. We both choreographed the sequence and he wanted it to be natural. He is an amazing actor and that makes the job of the artists easy.”
Working with Dhanush
“He is a brilliant actor... [a] calm and a quiet co-actor. Once he faces the camera he performs his role with ease. I think we need to learn that. I get tensed with the dialogues and think too much about my character.”
Fond moments
After shooting the song Adada at Dudh Sagar Falls, near Goa, we were returning. It was late in the evening. Sitting on top of the running train, ducking now and then to avoid the branches of trees, it was a wonderful moment sipping tea and listening to the sounds of the insects.
Don’t miss it!
Thodari releases in the UAE on September 22.
