Made for the camera

May 28, 2015 08:14 pm | Updated 08:14 pm IST - Thiruvananthapuram

Abhirami hosts 'Made For Each Other'

Abhirami hosts 'Made For Each Other'

The bubbly teen that we all knew so well on the small screen and the silver screen has all but disappeared. In her place is a bold, confident and stylish young woman of the world, who is articulate, compassionate and still very much in command of her craft as she nurtures 12 pairs of newlyweds on an epic journey of discovery in the new reality show ‘Made For Each Other’.

After 10 years of self-imposed exile from the screens, during which time she immigrated to the United States (U.S.), completed her higher studies, worked for a multi-national corporation and got married, actress Abhirami, it seems, is back with a bang.

Abhirami has resumed her acting career too – first as a gynaecologist in Madhav Ramadasan’s medical drama Apothecary and then as a friend, confidant and adviser-in-chief to Jyothika’s character in Roshann Andrewss’ 36 Vayadhanile , the Tamil remake of How Old Are You . Next up for release is Malayalam film Driver On Duty , in which she has a starring role as a do-gooder policewoman, who is a bit of a disciplinarian. Via e-mail from the U.S., the actress talks about why she decided to return to the arc lights. Excerpts from the interview…

Ten years is a long time away. How do you feel about making a comeback to television? Is the medium your first choice vis-à-vis cinema?

It was a little unnerving during the first few days of shoot. In TV, I don’t have a scripted character that I play. Who you see is who I really am. Unlike cinema, TV takes you right into the living room of the audience and it’s a very empowering feeling to get that direct a connection with your viewers.

It’s tough to choose between cinema and television. They’re both very different experiences. In film I try to play another character to the best of my ability, whereas, when I host a show, I am trying to be consistently entertaining, while retaining my identity. They both pose their own challenges.

Did you miss being in front of the camera, then?

The “comeback” wasn’t a deliberate decision. My foray into films after a gap was through the dubbing I did for the Tamil movie Vishwaroopam 1 and then 2, and subsequently Uttama Villain . When I was in town for Vishwaroopam 2 shoot, the Apothecary team approached me. I was impressed by the story and my character in the movie, and thought, it would be a good challenge for me. My roles in Driver on Duty and 36 Vayadhanile are also very strong and different from each other. I’d like to continue to portray diverse characters.

Life was busy after I moved away so I didn’t really miss being in front of the camera. I still watched a lot of movies and every time I saw a character I liked, I would imagine how I would have portrayed it.

What drew you to ‘Made For Each Other?’

It’s a travel/game/reality show. We put 12 newly married young couples through a series of challenges and tasks and finally the winner gets a big prize. As far as I know, this is the first Indian TV show to be entirely filmed abroad. It encapsulates things that really intrigue me; human behaviour, interpersonal relationships and travel. It’s just an unscripted, spontaneous, fun show.

Does the show bring back memories of being a newlywed?

Yes. It’s adorable to see how in love the couples are. They’re constantly tending to one another, encouraging each other, holding hands, and, stealing embraces. There’s always so much love in the air on the set! The tasks are designed such that it tests their presence of mind, agility, and team work with their spouse and other contestants. It helps to think out of the box as well, and a lot of games only have general rules that allow for lateral thinking.

So, we can look forward to more of Abhirami on screen…?

I have a movie coming up in Tamil. I have a couple of projects in Malayalam in the pipeline. Plus the TV show will keep me busy for a few months. I’m open to interesting work, language no bar!

(‘Made For Each Other’ airs Mondays to Thursdays on Mazhavil Manorama, 8 p.m.)

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.