This story is from August 27, 2014

My marital status made no difference in M’wood, but it did in Tamil: Kaniha

My marital status made no difference in M’wood, but it did in Tamil: Kaniha
Kaniha has created a niche for herself in M-Town, which has many non-Malayali actresses. Be it a Christian homemaker or a Malabari Muslim, Kaniha has done it all effortlessly, right from her first Malayalam project Bhagyadevatha. After a gap of five years, she is working again with her first hero in Mollywood, Jayaram, in the upcoming film by Benny Thomas.
The actress speaks about teaming up with Jayaram; leisure trips; fitness regimen and more.
Excerpts:
You are playing a Muslim from Malabar again in your next film.
I guess it is the flavour of the season (laughs). For a long time, I was christened Ancy, Daisy, Stella et all and these days, I am often picked to play Muslim characters. I am paired with Jayaram, and play Waheeda, who is from Malabar. This character is similar to my role in Bhagyadevatha, my film with Sathyan Anthikkad. Benny Thomas’ film can be called a commercially sound entertainer and I am happy to be part of it.
How was it working with Jayaram again?
This is my third film with him after Bhagyadevatha and Mahesh P Sreenivasan’s My Big Father; we are coming together for a project after five years. The truth is that we have not realised so many years have gone by! He has always been a livewire on the set and still is. Moreover, he is quite a helpful co-star.
In Rosshan Andrrews’ How Old Are You, you played Manju Warrier’s best friend. Tell us about the experience.

When I took up the offer, many people asked me why I would want to be part of such a film, as it is Manju Warrier’s comeback movie and the focus will be on her. However, being a Manju Warrier fan myself, I felt happy to be part of the film. The project was quite precious for her, and that is what I felt too. The appearance of my character Susan, who works in the corporate world and serves as Nirupama’s life saviour, is quite different from the get ups I have had in Malayalam films.
The film is to be made in other languages too. Will you be part of the project in Tamil?
As of now, it is quite early to speak about that, and the Tamil film will start rolling only in February. However, I am happy about How Old Are You crossing borders and I wish the team all the best.
Your online pages are filled with photos from various trips…
I love travelling. While I was living in the US for seven years, work meant travel for me as I had to come to India for film shoots. Now that my family is in Chennai, that has changed and trips actually mean vacation. My husband Shyam and I love to pack our bags to chill out. You just have one life for it all, right?
You have dubbed for mainstream actresses in Tamil and also speak Malayalam quite fluently in television interviews. Will you dub for yourself in Malayalam?
I would love to dub for myself.I never used to be in India when the post production works of films happen. Since that has changed now, I am hopeful that I might eventually dub in Malayalam too.
Do you work out regularly?
I don’t gain weight fast, but I work out five days a week. I don’t like to take shortcuts to fitness and also love food. I have cut out rice from my diet for the past one year, and have substituted it with millets. Being a South Indian, not eating rice is not an easy choice.
It has been 11 years since you debuted as an actress. How has been the journey so far?
I truly feel a sense of contentment. I have matured as an actress. My personal experience is that, once married, the attitude of the Tamil film industry changes towards actresses. However, my marital status made no difference in Mollywood and good characters continued to come my way, because of which I am really happy with Malayalam.
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