Sakshi Aggarwal couldn’t have asked for more.
The gold medallist engineer with an MBA to boot got her dream job in Infosys for a paycheck that many would swoon for. Yet, over a year later she quit and followed her heart in an industry where she had to begin all over again.
Aggarwal’s cinema career was never planned. What egged her into this field was her modelling stints and the offers that followed. After a few Tamil films and a Kannada film, Aggarwal enters Malayalam cinema with Oraayiram Kinakkalal. She plays Biju Menon’s wife, Preethi.
For this role of a mother to a six-year-old, Aggarwal drew from her learning in method acting at Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute, Los Angeles. Observing a veteran like Menon was a wonderful experience, she said.
“He easily takes inputs from [the] director and moulds it into his role,” she added.
Having grown up in Chennai and being fluent in Tamil, she was not as intimidated by the new language Malayalam. She ensured that she was thorough with her lines.
Aggarwal, who hails from a conservative Rajasthani community, is the first engineer, the first MBA holder and the first actor in their family. Her family was initially shocked at her decision to change track.
“They are proud of me,” she smiles, looking forward to the release of Kaala, Rajnikanth’s much-awaited film. And, yes she is sharing screen space with the idol of her younger years.