It was in 2013 that actor Malavika Mohanan marked her debut with the Malayalam film, Pattam Pole. But she’s also done films in other languages, including Kannada, Tamil and Hindi. As she awaits the release of the Hindi film, Yudhra, she says that Bollywood is “a lot more organised”. She elaborates, “What I like about the Hindi film industry is that schedules are thoroughly adhered to. So, you’re aware of which scene you’re shooting for on a particular day and that lets you prepare well.”

The actor says her heart belongs to South cinema, but she hopes that the industries there become more organised. “I love working there. But I do wish they had better planning. If a scene doesn’t get over on a certain day, as per schedule, it gets spilled over to the next day. That’s how things often get pushed and then actors become unavailable because of other commitments,” she rues.

The 28-year-old adds, “Our dialogues are often given at the last minute and it becomes tough to prepare.”

However, she wants to continue juggling South and Hindi cinema: “The culture across all the industries is different. So, when you work in multiple industries, you meet people from different backgrounds.”

Mohanan shares that working across industries makes her job as an actor more exciting. She says, “From going to shoot in a small village in Tamil Nadu to an exotic island in Portugal — who else gets to live such a life, apart from actors, filmmakers?”