In an exclusive conversation with ETimes, Santhy spoke at length about working in Gulmohar and its stellar cast, her growing up years, her acting journey and her idea of success.
Your Hindi debut Gulmohar is being talked about all across. How does it make you feel?
It’s been a very heartwarming response. People have especially enjoyed the romantic track between Reshma and Jeetu. There are different couples at different stages in their relationship in the movie. You have a couple who are 35 years into their marriage and then there is newly married couples who are just sort of discovering their emotions for each other. It was interesting that the film had this kind of exploration of romance. People have picked up on it and have enjoyed that. And that’s really nice to know. As actors, we are lucky that we’ve received such a response.
Your father was more excited to see you sharing space with Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Bajpayee.
You know, in fact, it’s really funny how these things happened. At some point before Gulmohar even happened, very randomly, my father said one day that, ‘You know, I think you will one day work with Manoj Bajpayee.’ And somehow very fortunately that was the next project that I committed to. I was really amazed that his words came true. That was a really, coincidental thing or I suppose, maybe he put the thought out into the universe and it answered back (laughs). And like he said in his post, he’s been a huge fan of Sharmila (Tagore) ji, right from when he was a little boy. For him, that was the added element of excitement. In fact, last year he published the book, Gitanjali, which is the Malayalam translation of Rabindranath Tagore’s poems, for which I did the illustration. So it was nice that I could actually give a copy of the book to Sharmila ji with his words and my paintings.
Were you nervous on the sets of Gulmohar?
Rahul, the director, made a conscious effort to make sure that the cast got to know each other before shooting. We even had a workshop, which was conducted by Manoj sir. We had a theatre workshop. We spent a day with all the actors together. So we kind of got to break the ice that way. We also had several reading sessions before that. So there was an element of comfort that had already started setting in. It was always fascinating to watch these actors who you’ve heard of and who you have admired. They were lovely on the sets. Manoj sir likes to discuss craft, and shares his insights. That was a very positive environment for actors who are just starting their journey. To be in the company of these really established, experienced actors, and to watch them at work and kind of work with them was a really exciting opportunity.
Was it a conscious decision to work on a Hindi project on your part?
Yeah, I’ve always wanted to work across languages. Acting is a profession that gives you that opportunity to kind of cross barriers of language. Especially now that the OTT has opened up so much, there are lots of diverse parts being written, parts that can be played by people from across the country. This was an interesting opportunity for me to try that. If you have successful films, it definitely opens more doors for you because people take note of your work more. You are more on the radar of those who are casting, or those who are writing interesting scripts. So definitely, it gives a boost to your career if you work in projects that do well commercially.
How did acting happen to you?
I’ve always been a creative person. Growing up, I was always interested in theatre, painting and the arts in general. My parents have always supported my interest in exploring the arts. I used to paint a lot as a child and used to have exhibitions of my paintings. That was a big part of my life. But I also had a very academic side. Then I did psychology, and then I went on to anthropology. I’ve always been interested in human behavior. I feel like that kind of extended into my interest in acting as well.
I have a graduate degree from Oxford University. I have done my PhD. Then I kind of figured that I needed a little break. And at that point I did a play. And because I did the play, then casting agents started taking note of me, and then they asked me to audition. And that’s how I got my first couple of projects because of the play. I realized that this was something that I wanted to explore a little bit more seriously. So theatre exposed me to this idea of taking acting more seriously as a career choice.
If not an actor, what profession would you have been in?
I do enjoy writing. I did a music video that I wrote the script for, which was released by AR Rahman in 2021. It’s called Oblivion. It was a very experimental piece because it explored the space between life and death. So that was something that I really enjoyed doing. I have worked on a script with a friend, we’ve co-written it together. Writing is a space that I definitely enjoy and would like to explore more of. I really enjoyed that aspect of bringing in a team together to execute a project. That was definitely a special point in this journey into films for me.
Tell us about Sweet Karam Coffee.
Sweet Karam Coffee is a Tamil web series, which will be out in a few months. I think it’s slated for probably like a summer, vacation release. So nothing’s totally confirmed yet. We are just waiting right now. The date is not set. But it’s something in a similar space to Gulmohar. It’s a family space, very kind and lighthearted. As the name suggests, it has all the flavours of life. It’s a show about three generations from one family, the grandmother, mother and daughter. It has been shot in different parts of India as well. So my grandmother is played by the veteran actress Lakshmi, and my mother is played by Madhoo. I had a wonderful time with both these ladies. They were amazing women to work with, so talented and so experienced. They are really lovely human beings as well.
What is your definition of success?
It’s a combination of doing work that fulfills you. At least personally, what I really enjoy the most is that process of becoming a character. Even if the project doesn’t become commercially successful, you’ve learned something as part of that journey. That is success for me. I invest a lot less of my emotions in the outcome, because the outcome is really not in your hands.
How are you planning to explore opportunities in the Hindi film industry?
I don’t think I have a specific plan or a strategy. I’m happy to wait for good work. I’m keen to audition as much as possible and find projects that kind of resonate with me. I’m hoping to do more good work.
Do you have any favourite actors or directors who you would like to work with?
There are so many directors that I would love to work with. It’s hard to name a few, but Shoojit Sircar is one of them. I think his work is very sensitive. It explores human nature in a very beautiful way. I would also love to work with Zoya Akhtar. There are so many amazing people working currently.
It’s been five years since you have been into acting. How would you describe your journey so far?
It’s been an experience where I think I’ve learned a lot, especially about dealing with a creative profession and the uncertainties that come with it. It has taught me to take life as it comes. In general, life is unpredictable, but if you’re working in a creative field, it’s even more. Just enjoy that unpredictability and make peace with it. Life can be surprising and things can change with new collaborations just around the corner. It has been difficult for me and it has taken some time to see a positive side to it.
I am very lucky that I’ve had a very interesting filmography and the characters I’ve played have been sort of out of the box mostly. I’ve gotten to play a lot of characters with grey shades. I’m very grateful to the writers and directors who have given me these opportunities to explore these different sides of human nature. Unless someone extends you with that opportunity as an actor, you are at the mercy of someone seeing that character in you.
