Akhila Kishore can’t stop smiling at the audience response to her character in Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam Iyakkam . The young actress from Bangalore essayed a quirky character in the “film without a story”.
It all began with a call from director Radhakrishnan Parthiban, asking her to audition for the film. Akhila, who has worked in three Kannada films — Padhe Padhe and the forthcoming Kalabhairava and Boys — came down to Chennai brimming with confidence, with little idea about the director. Parthiban told her to ‘google search’ his work and return. “I figured out he is a National Award winner. I became very nervous,” she recalls.
Akhila, a computer engineer, took up the offer because of the “crazy characterisation. It was very atypical. I wanted to try out something uncommon.”
The actress is awaiting the release of her Kannada film, Kaalabhairava . She plays a violin teacher who moves to the city from a village and meets the hero, played by Yogi. “There’s love, comedy and more. It’s proper commercial fare,” she says. Boys , a drama-thriller that focusses on five girls, is about crime against women. Veteran Malashri plays a cop in the film that has a lot of action sequences.
“I’m happy with the opportunities coming my way, considering I don’t have a film background,” she says. Akhila is from a family that teems with doctors and engineers. Her height ensured she played basketball, and that’s when she got a chance to model. A couple of awards at beauty pageants later, films beckoned.
After KTVI , she’s got about three offers each in Tamil and Telugu, but Akhila wants to take her time before signing on the dotted line.
Akhila’s family is delighted with her Tamil debut. “My mother loved it. My father was appreciative, but was sad to see me in pain, even if it was only on screen.”
The best part about working in a Tamil film was learning the language, says Akhila, as she bursts into Tamizh. “The film also made me fall in love with the art of acting. I want to do more films, across genres. I want to play glam roles, go de-glam, weep, laugh, fight... I want a bit of everything. It would be nice to play the hero too,” she laughs.
The actor, who is in Chennai for the film’s promotions, says the enormity of the film’s success hits her when she visits theatres. “The claps are still ringing in my ears.”
