Neeta Pillai: Joshiy sir wanted me to be confident that I could pull off the police officer’s character

Right in her first film Poomaram, Neeta Pillai had proven that she could command respect through her words and body language, playing a spirited college union chairperson, with ease. Probably that’s what veteran director Joshiy, too, saw in her, when he decided to cast the two-film-old youngster as a police officer in his next film Paappan, starring Suresh Gopi in the lead.
Ask Neeta about the project and she says, “When the film’s producer called me a month before the shoot and mentioned that it was Joshiy sir himself who recommended me, I was very excited.That in itself felt like a reward!” Then again, the director wanted her to read the script first, to know for sure whether she felt she could do it. “He said it was a challenging part and wanted to make sure whether I was confident. After I met the scriptwriter RJ Shaan and he walked me through the script, I was sure and thrilled to play my part. I met Joshiy sir soon after, and said I am doing it,” says Neeta.
The actress tells us how her new character is, as compared to the ones she has already done, “The characters I played prior to this one required me to be bold, confident and have leadership qualities. This film, too, required all that, but it also demanded me to portray an additional sense of authority, power and confidence as I was playing a police officer’s role. I would say this is a more serious character as compared to the others.”
Neeta reveals that Joshiy follows a well-planned system on his sets. “There was absolute discipline on the set. There were also certain approaches in his filmmaking style, which were new to me. But those are the ones I enjoyed the most, as they challenged me to perform. Being there was like joining an institute for a crash course, with so much to learn. While everyone on the set was an experienced artiste, I was just a few films old. And what better school than that?” She asks. But she adds that Joshiy didn’t let inexperience intimidate her. “He used to walk me through scenes repeatedly, whenever he felt I needed it. Joshiy sir’s son Abhilash, who was the film’s creative director, also helped with many inputs. I was very upset on the day of the wrap-up, as I knew I would miss working with Joshiy sir. It’s been an indelible experience,” she remembers.