'Gautham and I work closely'

Actor-director Roopa Iyer has been focusing exclusively on wielding the megaphone. She has decided to don the grease paint only when something really big and worthwhile comes her way. And Roopa seems to have found one such subject where she will be acting and directing. 

The next project will see Roopa play a speech and hearing impaired person who also happens to be a power yoga teacher in London. “I have been planning to start this project for a long time now and I’ve finally found some time between my directorial work,” she says. She points out that the project will be shot in London and India. “The character that I play works shuttles between London and India. I’ve started learning sign language for this project. It isn’t an easy task to learn sign language but I think it will be worth the effort,” she adds. Roopa has parallelly begun work on an action-adventure film which she doesn’t want to talk about just yet. “I’ve been talking to a couple of actors for the film and I am sure I will finalise the script soon,” she adds. 

Roopa has just completed the first shooting schedule of another film which is inspired by a plane crash that happened in the United States a few years ago. The only survivor was a child. This is what prompted Roopa to knit a story. The role of the child is played by Avarora, a Russian by birth but raised in New York. “The plane crashed in a tribal belt with only a child surviving it. We intend to knit a story around this true story. It’s a patriotic film about how the child yearns to go back to her country and reunite with her family,” she states.

Roopa and music director Gautham Srivatsav married a few months ago. Ask Roopa if her life has changed after marriage and she says, “Not at all, In fact, Gautham and I work more closely now and life after marriage has not only become more challenging but has enriched me, both as a person and as an actor.”