Malavika Mohanan also wants to collaborate with her first co-star, Dulquer Salmaan
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 2, 2018)

Cinematographer K U Mohanan’s daughter Malavika, who made her acting debut opposite Malayalam superstar Dulquer Salmaan in the 2013 romantic film Pattam Pole, is now gearing up to spread her wings with Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s debut Hindi film, Beyond the Clouds. The film also features Shahid Kapoor’s brother Ishaan Khatter as her onscreen brother Amir.

“I had a very middle-class upbringing, because by the time my father broke through with the Farhan Akhtar directed Don, I was already in standard ninth. We’d drop by on the sets sometimes to catch Shah Rukh (Khan) or Aamir (Khan) in action but I wouldn’t call myself an industry kid,” says Malavika. After graduating in Mass Media, she was pondering which stream to pursue when Mammootty offered her Pattam Pole opposite his son and being a fellow Malayali, she accepted and ended up doing few other films down South. “But while they were happening, I was meeting other people with my eye to the Hindi film industry which has a bigger reach. Last year, when I was out having dinner with my friend, I got a call from Honey Trehan (the casting director of Beyond The Clouds) asking me to urgently send over some pictures to him.”

The next day, when Malavika met Honey at his office, she learnt that it was a Majid Majidi film and a few big actresses (including Deepika Padukone and Kangana Ranaut) were contending for the role. “But while doing the look test, I was hopeful of bagging this much coveted role. I’m a huge fan of Majidi sir and have grown up watching his films. A few days later, I got a confirmation call from the makers,” reminisces the actress knowing instinctively that this would be a perfect launch for her.

Since she started shooting just five days later, she didn’t have much time for prep but spent some time at the Dhobi Ghat, learning how to iron clothes like her character Tara, while working on her body language and Bambaiya accent. For the sequences where she is in jail, she was required to lose 8 kg in 15 days. “That was physically exhausting. I also started sleeping less so I’d get some dark circles and didn’t wash my hair for 10 days to look convincingly distraught on screen,” informs Malavika.

It was Ishaan’s first movie too and since they play siblings, they developed a special bond during the filming and were very protective of each other. “If a good offer comes along, I’d love to work with Ishaan again,” she smiles.

The smile gets bigger and brighter when told that her first co-star Dulquer’s Hindi debut, Karwaan, is also releasing this year. “We are in touch, on and off. He is a great guy and being my first co-star, he will always be very special. It would really be cool to do a Hindi film with him,” she beams.

Ask her if she’ll continue making films down South and she surprises you by admitting that she never wanted to set up a permanent base there. “The shelf life of an actress in Malayalam films is really short. I’ve seen superstars fade out in a year or two. In that way, once you establish yourself in Bollywood, you have many years of work ahead of you which is why I did not expend my energies there. But I’d love to do some good Malayalam films once in a while,” says the self-admitted Vidya Balan fan who also came to Bollywod after flirting briefly with Malayalam cinema.

Meanwhile, Malavika is still figuring her second Hindi film. Her bucket list is an interesting one. “I’d love to play a Queen or Wonder Woman,” she signs off with a laugh.