Amalda Liz: I liked the idea of playing a yakshi

Amalda Liz had less than five minutes of screentime as a yakshi in period horror Bramayugam, but the response to the role has been impressive. Fans have done recreations of the role on social media. And the actress has received a lot of fan art based on the character, who has a dalliance with Mammootty’s Kodumon Potti in the film.

“I didn’t think that the yakshi would be so appreciated. I’ve received a tonne of artwork; I’ve just posted a few. There are plenty of videos too, done with little kids even,” says Amalda.

Speaking about the shoot, the actress says that even though she only appeared in a couple of scenes, it seemed like they shot a lot with her. “Because of this, I felt that this is an important role. And the audience response has driven this home,” she says. “I was quite nervous about the role, because it isn’t easy to play a yakshi, though I’ve always liked the idea of portraying one. For me, it was ‘wow, I’m playing a yakshi’. It is a character of the imagination, so it’s difficult to nail.”

Amalda explains that the body language of the bold character was something she developed and thought about over a few months. “Getting into costume also helped to bring out the posture and body language. Director Rahul Sadasivan had developed some sketches for her and in folklore, the character is considered to be confident, loud and beautiful, so it was clear how I needed to carry myself,” she says.

She was excited and nervous to be sharing an important scene with Mammootty. “But you become aware that you are standing in front of a master, and it feels inspiring to see him perform in front of you and transform into the character in an instant,” she says.

I was excited to do Kammatipaadam, as it was Rajeev Ravi’s film. Then, I realised that Dulquer was in it and my first shot was with him. He was a super cool co-star. Now, acting with Mammootty sir, what can I say, he is adukkumele