'Only Shweta can play the role of a man'

Renjith Lal's upcoming English Malayalam bilingual film, Naval Enna Jewel, has Shweta Menon in one of the lead characters, as a Malayali woman who is married off to an Arab. In the film, Shweta's character is forced to live her life dressed as a man in Iran, for reasons not revealed yet. Ask the director why he chose Shweta for this role and he replies. 'Currently in Malayalam cinema, she is the only actress who can do the character.' Renjith goes on to say that Shweta's dedication towards making her character perfect amazed him.'We contacted Shweta for the role around July last year. She said she was ready to take it up, but said she needed five months to achieve the physique needed for the character. In five months she worked out and lost weight drastically. She was unrecognisable when we met her for the shoot.'