While
Nimisha Sajayan
made her Tamil film debut just this year, she has already been part of two of the acclaimed films in the language — Chithha and Jigarthanda DoubleX. In a chat with us, she opens up about how the year has been for her, the response she’s gotten for her work in Tamil, navigating between multiple industries, and why the comments section on her social media is private.
Excerpts:
How has 2023 been for you?
I would say 2023 was wonderful. Profession-wise, definitely a big yes.
Early in your career, you’d said that you’re scared of auditions. Is it still the same?
I’m not scared of auditions. I still give auditions. I auditioned for Jigarthanda. I auditioned for my Hindi film. I also auditioned for my Malayalam film, Thuramukham. When auditioning, you don’t know the script, character, or anything, so, initially, I was a bit scared. I think from those initial days to now, there’s been a drastic change. Now, there’s acceptance.
As someone who has consistently been part of good films, how do you choose a film?
I would say that the story and the script come first. Because, only if the script is good will your character work out, and not the other way round. So, for me, it’s always the script, then the character and the director.
You have also done a Marathi film and worked on an international production. How was that experience?
I was born and raised in Bombay, so my Hindi and Marathi are fluent.Language-wise, that’s more comfortable than Malayalam. I’m also doing a Hindi film now. I think Tamil was the toughest because of the language. I have to mug up the dialogues when I’m doing a film in Tamil. So, language is the only challenge.
When you memorise the dialogues, how do you make sure that the emotions come out?
When I did Jigarthanda, Karthik anna used to ask me to focus on the emotions and not the dialogue part. Even Siddhu and Arun sir used to say that while we were shooting the emotional scenes in Chithha. Once you mug up the dialogues, it stays with you in your head. So, you just have to be true to your emotions while performing.
How do you deal with the failure of your films?
You just move on. I’m very, very good at that. There’s nothing that you can do after the release, right? You can promote your film and ask people to watch the film, but if it didn’t work out, just move on to your next project. You have other good works to do, so just go with the flow.
Do you consider yourself a spontaneous actor?
I’m not a method actor. I don’t do rehearsals because I think it gets mechanical then. I’m more of an organic, spontaneous actor. I can switch between characters very fast. I was shooting for Jigarthanda and Vijay sir’s film at the same time.
At the Jigarthanda DoubleX success meet, a reporter passed a comment on your appearance, for which he was rightfully shut down. Do you have anything to say on that?
We are living in the 21st century, and still, people are asking those dumb questions. I don’t even pay any attention to those things. I am here to work. It’s been six years, and I’ve been doing so many projects back to back. I’m getting love from the audience, and now, from the Tamil audience, too. When you’re getting so much love from the audience, what else matters?
What are your expectations for 2024?
I don’t have any. I just want to be part of some great films. I am dying to work with some amazing directors and technicians in Tamil, because many content-driven movies are being made in Tamil right now. I want to do some incredible work. That’s the only goal for 2024.
Written by:Roopa Radhakrishnan
English (US) ·