Swaswika made her acting debut 15 years ago with the Tamil film Vaigai. Even though her initial stint in Tamil cinema didn’t prove to be quite rewarding, the actress came back with a bang with her impressive performance as Yashoda in Lubber Pandhu. In a chat with us, the actress delves into being part of the movie, her struggles and more.
‘I GOT LUBBER PANDHU THANKS TO SOCIAL MEDIA’I didn’t get any Tamil film offers for 10 years and lost touch with the industry. I believe I got the part in Lubber Pandhu thanks to OTT and social media. Director Tamizharasan Pachamuthu called me and said, ‘I really want you to play this part.’ So, when he exhibited so much trust, I did not want to miss the opportunity.
‘If not films, I cannot do anything else’I only studied till Plus Two. I wouldn’t get a job with my educational qualification these days. I know what I did was foolish, but I thought I shouldn’t get a degree, as my parents would tell me to pursue another career if acting didn’t work out. So, if not films, I cannot do anything else.
‘I FACED A LOT OF REJECTIONS AT THE STARTING STAGE OF MY CAREER’The 15 years that I have been in films have been filled with many ups and downs. I faced a lot of rejections at the starting stage of my career. My acting debut was with the Tamil film Vaigai (2009). Its makers had seen my photo in a Malayalam magazine and approached me. I didn’t face any struggles getting into films, but after that, nothing went the way I had hoped. I felt a bit sad then, but never in all these years did I completely stay away from this field. When I didn’t get films, I did serials, and when I didn’t get serials, I did anchoring. I wanted to become an artiste from my sixth standard. It’s what made me happy, and I know I will continue to stay in this profession. Two years ago, a Malayalam film of mine, Chathuram, became a hit. At that time, many started telling me that I’d finally made a comeback as a ‘heroine’. Only when people say such stuff do I think that I have been in the industry for 15 years. Otherwise, I’m not bothered or conscious about it.
‘I KNEW MY TAMIL THEN WAS BAD, BUT I STUCK TO IT’I didn’t forget the language even during my gap from the Tamil industry. When I was starting out here, I always stuck to speaking in Tamil. I knew my Tamil then was bad, but even when people used to make fun of me, I used to keep speaking in the language without using any English words. That’s how I learnt to speak Tamil.
‘I’M GETTING OFFERS IN TAMIL NOW, BUT IT’S MOSTLY MOTHER ROLES’When you are a character artiste, your performance will be appreciated, and you will get back-to-back movies. But the industry will tend to keep on offering you similar character roles, especially if you are a woman. This mindset is changing, but hasn’t completely changed yet. Films that give prominence to female artistes have always been made. But, both then and now, the quantity of such films has been less. Mostly, the characters that I’m being offered in Malayalam have been that of a village girl who is a sister or a wife. I’m getting a lot of offers in Tamil now, but it’s mostly mother roles or characters that are in a similar zone to what I did in Lubber Pandhu.
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