Life doesn't always give you second chances, but when you get one, you ought to make the best of it. For Swaswika, who started her acting career with Tamil films, the industry hasn't been very kind. She did a bunch of forgettable roles before deciding to take a break and concentrate on her home turf, Malayalam cinema. Six years after her last Tamil appearance, the actor has now made a smashing comeback with the sports drama Lubber Pandhu, in which her performance has garnered unanimous appreciation. Elated with the film's success, Swaswika is hopeful it will be the beginning of a flourishing second innings in Tamil. "I was disappointed with my films in Tamil, some of which weren't even released. But I couldn't do much. With Lubber Pandhu, everything fell into place perfectly. I've been getting incredible responses, both from the audience and industry insiders. I've been getting calls from many whom I admire, including Pa Ranjith sir, Mari (Selvaraj) sir, Vetrimaaran sir, and Sudha (Kongara) ma'am. Ranjith sir spoke at length about the performance and that itself felt like winning an award," says a thrilled Swaswika.

During the break from Tamil, Swaswika played some meaty roles in Malayalam, one of which, Vasanthi, earned her a Kerala State Award. Interestingly, it's the same performance that earned her the role in Lubber Pandhu. "Director Tamizharasan Pachamuthu reached out to me through composer Dhibu (Ninan Thomas) after seeing some of my portions from Vasanthi and Chathuram on YouTube. Though he hadn't seen any of my films fully, it was his intuition that landed me the role. There were no auditions or look tests," recalls the actor.

Lubber Pandhu stars Swaswika as Yasodhai, a middle-aged woman with a daughter in her early 20s. Admitting her initial hesitancy to take up the role, the actor says, "I was concerned about playing a character much older than my real age. I had also heard that Tamil films focus solely on the hero and heroine, with little scope for character roles. But director Tamizh assured me of my character's potential and I was also convinced that it could be that long-evading big break."

The film introduces Yasodhai as a fierce woman, who goes on to plough a cricket pitch with a tractor right in-between a match. It's an intro akin to a mass hero. "I was told about this scene during the first narration itself and learnt the basics of driving a tractor. But the one used in the film was an older model, so I practiced on the ground till noon and shot the scene after that. I was tense while performing, but the scene turned out to be a blast when I saw it in the theatres with the slo-mo effects and background score. In the very first scene itself, Gethu's wife gets established as a powerful character."

Fed up with her cricket-fanatic husband's (Dinesh) irresponsibility, we often see Yasodhai bitter and anxious. It's easy for a character like that to be hated by the audience, but Swaswika credits Tamizh's writing for neatly justifying her actions. "Gethu and Yasodhai get married while studying 12th grade without any proper understanding of life. She realises her husband's carefree nature much later, but still, her love for him remains intact. She keeps supporting him, even when he returns from Dubai, but their continued financial struggles throw her into a state of frustration. It is only at this point that the audience sees her. She might come across as a bitter woman, but none in the family hates her because she was initially supportive of Gethu. They know she has a genuine response to be upset now. Tamizh explained that the bitterness is only a mask that she wears before everyone, including her husband, daughter, and even her mother."

Swaswika says she particularly enjoyed the mature take on the romantic relationship between Gethu and Yasodhai, as she could see her parents in them. The tough exterior aside, Yasodhai has a profound love for her husband—a manchild at home—but doesn't often spell it out. "After being together for so long, your love language doesn't have to be very cutesy and expressive. Yasodhai also can't get too playful with Gethu as he might continue with his waywardness. So, the director wanted me to be just normal and communicate Yasodhai's feelings through minor glances and veiled smiles," explains the actor, as she continues about one of her favourite scenes in the film. "When Yasodhai returns home after the fight, I was told that she shouldn't break down or hug him tightly. She just gently consoles Gethu and sheds tears without him noticing. It's beautifully written and shot."

Though Swaswika had done a few Tamil films before, the challenges posed in Lubber Pandhu were multifold. From perfecting the dialogues to observing the body language of women from the milieu, to learning to drive a tractor, the actor was thorough with her preps. "Tamizh's process generally involves briefing the dialogues just before the shot, but since I'm not used to the dialect spoken in this film, I got the Tanglish version of the script much earlier, which proved to be a blessing. I learnt the lines by heart with their meaning, so that I could improvise on sets." Adding on her rapport with Dinesh, Swaswika says, "Since Dinesh sir is not a fan of rehearsals, we mostly performed spontaneously during the takes. We would perform each scene with multiple variations and the director would choose what we wanted. That process helped me, as it was an instinctive choice to convey a lot of Yasodhai's anger silently through powerful stares."

Beyond cricketing action and family dynamics, Lubber Pandhu also has an added layer of caste politics. According to Swaswika, the caste angle was briefed to the actors subtler than how it's shown in the film. "Tamizh said caste is one of the many things he wants to talk about in this film. It was not just to me, the briefing was the same even for Kaali (Venkat) annan and Bala (Saravanan) annan, who both are involved in the crucial exchange about casteism. The director didn't want them to present that scene as something groundbreaking. This realistic approach prevailed throughout the film."

Though offers have started knocking doors post-Lubber Pandhu, Swaswika is now cautious of the road ahead. "I'm aware of the possibility of stereotyping as some of the Tamil films offered are already in the rural drama space. I'm now doing an interesting Telugu film with Nithiin, in which I play a character with some negative shades. I'd rather wait for something different like that," says the actor, who's also aware of the strange silence in Kerala about Lubber Pandhu. Despite the film's success in Tamil Nadu and the rave reviews for her performance, the talks haven't really reflected in Kerala, feels Swaswika. "Apart from a few industry friends, not many seem to be aware of it. But I hope the response improves after the OTT release," signs off the actor on a hopeful note.