I’m not someone who entered the film industry because I dreamt of a career here: Malavika Menon

Malavika Menon, who was last seen in the Vineeth Sreenivasan-starrer Kurukkan, is currently shooting for a Dileep movie, #D148, which is based on real life incidents that happened in the 70s. She is also part of Pathimoonam Rathri, starring Shine Tom Chacko and Vishnu Unnikrishnan, which is ready for release. The actress talks about her over-a-decade-long career in films, dance and on-going projects...
Pathimoonam Rathri, Malavika says, is a combination of many stories.“It is about incidents in the lives of many people. My portion is about issues that women face in our society, and how my character overcomes it. I personally loved the character and it has a lot of depth,” she says.
Talking about her lead role in Kurukkan, she says, “I never expected that I’d get to act alongside Sreenivasan sir. I had to drive a jeep for the role, and that was an interesting experience. I can drive a four-wheeler with manual gear, but doing it with a jeep was different. My character also handles cops in a sarcastic way, and I am not at all like that in real life, which made it all the more exciting. I had to be bold. In fact, the first scene I shot for the film was of me driving the jeep. I did it without any trial and had everyone looking a little tense. Thankfully, it went well,” says Malavika.
On facing flak for her minor roles
“I did do minor roles that were not cameos. In Joseph, even though my role was very small, I realised how important it is only after I saw the film.Sometimes, there is a misconception when we hear only our role. We assume it’s bigger than it is, but it ends up being a small part. That has happened to me before. But I will treat all of those as opportunities. I had received a lot of flak for the role I did in Kaduva.Because, I was barely there! However, it is a choice I am happy about as I got to be part of a Prithviraj film. When we discussed the film, Jinu chetan (scriptwriter Jinu Abraham) said that there is no pressure on me to do it and that he would advise against it. But I wanted to be part of it. Later he told me that I might get to reprise the role if there is a sequel for Kaduva. He also said that he can’t promise it will work out. I am still happy with the decision.”
On her film journey
There have been many ups and downs. I just go with the flow. I am not someone who entered the film industry because I dreamt of a career here. Back then, I really didn’t know anything about acting. My family was going through a financial crisis and taking up film offers helped us.
Want to do something different in Tamil
Malavika has also done a handful of movies in Tamil and two Telugu movies. Vizha was her first in Tamil, in a lead role. “My most recent film in Tamil was Pei Mama with Yogi Babu. After that, I focussed on Malayalam projects. I am hearing a lot of stories in Tamil, but I want to do something different from what I have done there so far. So, I am waiting for good opportunities. I want a role that offers me space to perform,” she says.
About love for dance
It was my parents who enrolled me in dance class. I would drop it occasionally because of studies. However, after I came to films, I started getting stage shows. That’s when I started to realise how much I love dance. Just like how I want to do movies, I also want to perform on stage more often