I haven’t shifted my focus from films, clarifies Trisha while talking about playing dual roles in her upcoming film Mohini releasing on July 27. She also tells us about choosing female-centric films and touches upon the safety of girl children in the state Dressed in an Eshaani Jayaswal outfit, Trisha bowls us over with how fit she looks, still reminding us of her Enakku 20 Unakku 18 days.
Now, 15 years later, as one of the leading stars of South Indian cinema, she talks to us about her latest film Mohini, in which she plays the lead. “Mohini is not a mere horror film. This is also the first time that I will be playing a dual role from two different eras. One is Mohini and the other is Vaishnavi. How they are correlated and how they come together form the crux of the story. You will witness a variation in both performances and characters,” she begins.
With quite a few female-oriented films in her kitty, the actress clarifies that she hasn’t been consciously choosing women-centric subjects. “Nine out of 10 scripts I listen to are along these lines. Though I would like to cash in on the trend of women-oriented films, I am doing my best to explore various roles and genres. Take Mohini for example, though it’s a horror film revolving around a woman, it has commercial elements and some fun added in the formula,” she says.
Trisha has performed stunts without a body-double for several scenes in this flick. “Until now, I had only seen heroes performing stunt scenes using a harness. I was quite excited to perform action sequences myself for Mohini,” she smiles. Prod her if she is under some sort of pressure ahead of the release, especially for films in which she plays the lead role and she says, “I would term it as a ‘responsibility’ given to me. But one thing I don’t approve of is people calling Mohini a long-awaited film, just because it is releasing after my last, which was 18 months ago. After wrapping up the shoot, there was a lot of CG work to be done, thus the delay. On the whole, the film has come out well. It has an important message on women and child safety.”
Divulging more about her role, she tells us that she plays a chef in the film. “Mohini is a different character altogether whereas Vaishnavi is a chef. Being a foodie, I enjoyed playing this part. There was this set of a kitchen in London, where the film was shot. I tried my hand at baking and cooking and we even made pancakes!” she smiles. Trisha also tells us that she would like to see herself in a period film sometime soon.
Moving on, we ask her why though she’s acted quite a bit in the Telugu industry, her last straight outing there was three years ago and she replies, “It is not that I have shifted my focus away from Telugu films. It is just that I haven’t been getting any substantial scripts from that industry. I did a Malayalam film last year, Hey Jude and received good response. With cinema going global, I could say that I have become open to working across languages and film fraternities. At the moment, I feel I have gone Pan-Indian rather than restricting myself to certain industries.”
The fact that she signs a film based on her instinct makes her go with the flow. “When I listen to a script, I have a gut feeling that some would work with the audience and some wouldn’t,” says the actress. This is probably what has helped her rule the roost for the past 16 years says, during which she has seen the cine industry become more progressive, she states. “I feel very comfortable working in this industry and it has been a wonderful journey so far.”
Trisha, who is a UNICEF celebrity advocate for child rights says that the recent case of child abuse in the city is highly disturbing. “A recent survey says that India tops the list of countries that are unsafe for women. It is heart-breaking. A few years ago, my friends used to tell me that I am fortunate to belong to one of the safest countries in the world. It is not the same anymore. More awareness needs to be created and there should be a strict judicial system against such crimes,” she concludes.
