Kochi: She shot to limelight with a scintillating performance in the Malayalam film 'Neelathamara', which came in for considerable praise from different quarters of the society.
Now, Archana Kavi seems to be all set to repeat that feat in the Tamil film industry as well, if one is to go by the testimonials of those who have seen her work in Vasantabalan’s 'Aravaan'.
The actress, it seems, is intent on making a mark. Commenting on the experience of working in 'Aravaan', a period film which is eagerly awaited, Archana says, "I play an Adivasi girl called Chimpti in the film. Initially, when I was told about my role, I was like ‘Whoa! My first film in Tamil and I’ll be without make-up. But then, when I spoke to director Vasanthabalan, he told me that this film would give me a big break. I also realised that I would grow as a person. That made me take up this project."
Director Vasantabalan, who has been giving back-to-back hits like 'Veyil' and 'Angaadi Theru', is known to be a tough taskmaster. Ask Archana if she found it hard working with him and she instantaneously replies, "No way!"
The actress says, "On the contrary, I loved working with Vasantabalan sir. He challenges the artiste in you and that brings out the best that you have to offer. When it comes to work, he is full of energy and it is difficult to keep pace with him. I had to shoot for only 40 days and I found it hard to keep pace. I salute my co-stars Aadhi and Pasupathi sir who have been shooting for over a year at that pace.”
The movie is a period flick that is based on an incident that is featured in the novel ‘Kaval Kottam’ by Su Venkatesan. The film has Aadhi, Pasupathi and Dhansikaa playing important roles apart from Archana Kavi.
Generally, in a multi-starrer, a sense of uneasiness prevails over the amount of screenspace that each artiste gets. Did she have apprehensions about the screenspace that she would get in the movie?
Says Archana, "To be honest, initially, I was worried about whether I would be called a second heroine in my first Tamil film. But then, all my concerns disappeared when I realised the significance of this script. ‘Aravaan’ belongs to that category of films that one gets only once in a lifetime. It is a film in which the glamour part takes a backseat and only the performance part gets highlighted. I can tell you that I have put my heart and soul into this project and I’m kind of hoping it will be appreciated."
Archana Kavi has done quite a number of Malayalam movies but it has taken quite a bit of time for her to star in her first Tamil film. Explaining the delay, Archana says, "People think that since I am a Malayali, I can speak Malayalam well. But the truth is my command of Malayalam is not all that strong. That is because I was born and brought up in Delhi. But then, I picked it up and then took to acting in Malayalam films. For the same reason, I did not take up a Tamil project for a year. I wanted to learn the language and then take up a project. But I couldn’t resist a script like 'Aravaan' and have so been a part of it."
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