'I wanted to be part of a total commercial film in Kannada'

Malayalam actress Meera Nandan is now a complete South Indian actor following her debut in Kannada cinema, after acting in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films.

Her Kannada film Karodpathi, co-starring Komal, opened last Friday to positive reviews and a good box-office collection.

Her debut Malayalam film was Mulla, which won her best debut awards.

The long-delayed Kannada film Karodpathi has finally opened another window of opportuny for this young and talented Kochi girl.

In this interview, Meera Nandan talks about her debut in Kannada cinema and what it means to work outside her home state.

How do you define your role in the Kannada film Karodpathi?

I play the role of a homely girl, Vidya, who loves the hero unconditionally and is ready to do anything for him. She is even ready to change her identity for his sake. 

How did you get the role?

I have been waiting for a good offer in Kannada. I did get a few offers, but I preferred to wait for the right script.

When I got this offer, I said yes as I wanted to be a part of a total commercial film.

This marks my debut in Kannada cinema. I am hoping to act in Kannada movies after this if something exciting comes my way.

I have signed another Kannada film that has completed one schedule of shooting. The team is yet to begin the next schedule.

What are your criteria for selecting films?

The first thing that I see is my role in the film and the character that I get to play.

My character should have something in it for me. The story comes second and the rest of the details just follow.

How was your overall experience working in a Kannada movie?

It was really nice working here. I faced a lot of problems with the language but the director was patient enough to explain the scenes and how I should do them.

Even Komal helped me with finer details. He would find solutions to all the problems that I faced. Even if he was not happy with what I did, he would be cool about suggesting changes.

He used to come up with suggestions to help me perform a scene well. He was critical if I didn’t get it right and was appreciative when I got it right.

How difficult is it for you to work in a language that you don’t quite understand?

I have been doing that for a while in Tamil now.

I get my portion of the dialogues before hand. I have to memorise the dialogues before I go in front of the camera. I am very bad at ‘by-hearting’ my lines. I need to know the exact meaning before I can actually mug up my lines.

Now, I know Tamil and I can manage Telugu. But Kannada is an alien language to me.

I understand Kannada a little bit. But, it has been a while since I worked here because this film got delayed for a good amount of time.

What was it like working with superstars Mohanlal, Mammotty, and Suresh Gopi and others in Malayalam cinema?

Mohanlal is my favourite because of the ease with which he goes about his work as soon as the camera is switched on.

I had heard about Mammotty having an attitude and all that. But he was very helpful and supportive on the sets. It was the same with the other big names.

How do you manage your studies and films together?

I completed my Bachelor’s in Communicative English recently from St Teresa’s College in Kochi while striking a balance between films and studies.

I am now enrolling myself for a Master’s in Mass Communication.

What are your plans for the future?

Why should I tell you what I am planning to do?

Certainly, media studies is what interests me. I don’t want to disclose to you about what I intend to do in future.