I can understand Malayalam completely now: Vedhika

A year ago, Vedhika got introduced to the Malayali audience through Dileep-starrer Sringaravelan. After playing a handful of memorable characters across various South Indian industries, she’s back in Mollywood with Vysakh’s Cousins and is busy shooting in Bangalore. The actress, whose Kollywood film Kaviya Thalaivan will also hit screens soon, speaks to us about working with Prithviraj; her tryst with the Malayalam language; love for dance and more.
Excerpts
After your Mollywood debut, you took a lot of time to sign up for your next film in M-Town...Sringaravelan did well at the box office, and I wanted to make sure I pick the right project as my next in Malayalam. In Cousins, I am paired with Kunchacko Boban and we are currently shooting at the Bangalore Palace. Kunchacko is very simple, but a fantastic actor. The movie has a power-packed theme and cast, and a gripping story, which impressed me.
Though I can’t disclose much about my role now, I can assure you that Cousins is going to be an out and out entertainer with an element of suspense. Director Vysakh and the crew members have an eye for detail,which amazes me.
Tell us about your role in the Kollywood film Kaviya Thalaivan. Vasanthabalan’s soon-to-be-released Tamil film, Kaviya Thalaivan, is a beautiful A R Rahman musical and I am extremely thrilled about the movie. Being a period film, I had to do quite a bit of research to get a hang of my character, her ways and the setting. I watched many old films like Saraswathi Sapadham and Thiruvilaiyaadal. I had to do research for the Tamil movie Paradesi as well in which I played Angamma, a woman who lived in the 1930s. The director also guided me quite well.
As it is the story of theatre artistes, all of us get to don numerous get ups. I have around 25 different looks in the film. The film as a whole has very vibrant and colourful frames. The crew of Kaviya Thalaivan had around seven National Award winning technicians, but they are all so humble and grounded! That really touched me and I felt extremely lucky to have got an opportunity to work with them. It was also heartening to see that A R Rahman’s musical prowess shot the film to the top position on itunes within a few hours of the release of its songs. I could see that even people who don’t understand Tamil were quite hooked.
All the songs fit in well with the script and setting. The song Yarumilla featuring me has been getting awesome responses. I am waiting to watch its visuals.
How was it working with Mollywood heartthrob Prithviraj? He is fantastic! Prithvi plays a very tough character in Kaviya Thalaivan. However, he is an artiste with considerable experience and talent, which reflects in his performance. He handles the Tamil dialogues with ease too.
Do you find Malayalam too tough a language to grasp? I am a Kannadiga and it is after debuting as an actress that I learnt Tamil. Now I can speak the language quite well. Similarly, I guess my Malayalam is also improving; I can understand the language completely now. Thankfully, all these languages have many similar Sanskrit wordsand that helps.
As far as Malayalam dialogues are concerned, even for my first film Sringaravelan I did not opt for prompting, but delivered the dialogues myself. Prompting breaks my thought process and in fact such a background voice would disturb me while acting. All I need is some time to learn before the shot and I can do a good job with Malayalam dialogues.
Do you work out regularly? Often while shooting, it is tough to get some time off for fitness routines, but I squeeze in a few stamina building exercises. Drinking a lot of water and juices are two things I follow regularly. Dance is my stress buster. I consider shooting for dance sequences as a form of exercise.
You have a lot of classical dance sequences in Kaviya Thalaivan. Was it tough to play the part? I had to do a lot of classical dance for Kaaviya Thalaivan, which was choreographed by Raghuram master. At a time when actors rarely get to perform classical dance in films, I am glad to have grabbed a role with such an opportunity. Be it Indian or Western, all styles of dancing are dear to me. I have been a part of many popular dancenumbers in the past too, for instance Kutti Pisase in the Tamil movieKaalai. I would love to do roles which have scope for dance in Malayalam as well.