Ishwarya Menon has a blast on Mammootty starrer Bazooka

There is a disarming charm about Ishwarya Menon. Whether it is about her talking about her thrill in working with Mammootty in Bazooka or even pointing out that her name is pronounced ‘Aishwarya’. “It’s just that the spelling is weird,” she says, laughing.

While Ishwarya’s filmography mainly comprises films in the other south industries - including the recently released big budget film Spy - because she was born and brought up in Tamil Nadu, the actress speaks fluent Malayalam. “My mother is from Chendamangalam and all my maternal relatives are still there,” says Ishwarya, who started modelling gigs at 15 and is an engineer by training.

She had posted recently on acting in her next with the “one and only” Mammootty in the massy thriller, which marks the debut directorial of scriptwriter Kaloor Dennis’s son Deeno Dennis. Nimish Ravi is the cinematographer. "Deeno approached me for the film, saying that I was a perfect fit for the character. It’s a prominent and important character and I am paired with Hakim Shah. It is a young crew, and the shoot, which is mostly happening in Kochi, is a lot of fun," she says.

Speaking about shooting with Mammootty, Ishwarya says, “It’s incredible and a privilege to be part of his film. I’ve always admired his work. He’s extremely sweet and friendly, and chilling with everyone. He has such an aura. Not just me, but my parents too were very proud and I am doing an important film with Mammootty.”

She has signed on three more big-time Telugu projects, and two set for release this year.

Having acted in other industries, how does she feel about doing Malayalam? “It’s my mother tongue and I am very comfortable with the language and there is ease in the dialogue delivery. I am also very comfortable in Tamil. In Telugu, I had to learn the language. But now I am happy to work with any industry where I get good work. And anyway, it is all Indian cinema now, because good content in any language is watched across the country,” says Ishwarya.

"My mother’s family hails from Chendamangalam. In the 2018 floods, our ancestral house was flooded and things were extremely difficult to manage. It took a long time for things to get back to normal."


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