Uthara Sharath says acting with her mom, Asha Sharath, was tougher than she expected

Sharing the debut shot as an actor with mom is something probably only Uthara Sharath can boast of in M-Town.
Actress Asha Sharath’s daughter plays a schoolgirl named Chinju in her first film Khedda, which recently wrapped up shoot. Her mom plays her on-screen mother, a single mom named Kavitha, who struggles to make ends meet but sends her daughter to a high-end school in the Manoj Kana directorial.

Uthara says that the shoot in itself was a unique experience for her. “Alongside debuting as an actor, I also found a family there. The 30 days of shoot had us all together for 24/7, so we all became very close. I even celebrated my first ever birthday in Kerala on the set. They arranged a big cake, everyone sang for me and even served biryani! It was great,” she says.
Remembering her first ever shot, which was with her mom, Uthara recalls, “It was a scene in which Chinju gets ready for school and her mom is caught up with the many things to pack her off. I thought it would be ok, but the experience was nothing like I expected.” Apparently, Uthara initially struggled to see Asha as Kavitha. “I guess my responses were similar to how I would react to my mom in real life, which wasn’t what was required there. But, Manoj Kana sir used to sit with me for hours and help me understand this 16 year-old from a broken, lower middle class home and I guess over time, we could keep aside the Asha-Uthara connection and bring Kavitha and Chinju to the fore,” she says. The film used sync sound and that again challenged Uthara, language-wise.
Asha Sharath, who is also Uthara’s guru, offered her constant feedback, she says. “She watched all of my scenes, even those in which she isn’t there. She would break down every scene and tell me where I could have improved or done something differently. I have performed in dramas before, but it's completely different when you work in movies. You should listen to the lighting crew, cinematographer and more too alongside getting your lines and expressions right. Even after the whole shoot is done, mom used to sit with me and explain how various things work. All of that was of great help,” says Uthara.