Naane Varuvean actor Shelly: I'll always cherish the fact that Dhanush directed me

Shelly is an actor known among the Malayali audience for playing meek, sombre roles. Be it during her stint in television serials, which shot her to fame, or her recent outing in Minnal Murali, she is mostly associated with characters that evoke a strong sense of pathos. But in reality, Shelly is anything but that. She is full of life and beams in energy as we begin this conversation. "I'm generally an upbeat person. But for some reason, I keep getting the same kind of roles. Since I also can't afford to be very choosy, I try to find nuances in these roles and portray them as differently as possible."

Nine years after debuting in Tamil with Thanga Meenkal, Shelly is making a comeback with the Selvaraghavan directorial Naane Varuvean. She plays the mother of Dhanush's dual characters in the film. Though disappointed that she could not share screen with him, Shelly is elated about the fact that Dhanush directed her in a few portions. "It was during the patch shoot. Selva sir was busy with the editing works, so Dhanush directed a few scenes. I will cherish that memory forever."

Though she had only very few days of shoot, Shelly considers working on Naane Varuvean 'a huge learning experience'. "Being someone who never had any formal training, I had to develop my own style of acting over the years. But I found Selvaraghavan sir's school completely different. Everybody is nervous around him. He will act and show, and expects us to perform just like that. There is very little room for improvisations." Recounting more on Selva's unique ways, Shelly adds, "Sir doesn't allow us to blink while acting. It was extremely strenuous because we were shooting in Ootty's chilling weather. I found it challenging, but I later Googled and found that it's a particular technique followed in the West, which helps actors to be more expressive with their eyes. Working with him, I learnt how different parts of our body can be used to express and enhance emotions. It was all new for me. I'm not sure if I will ever get to work with him again, but I can't thank him enough for the opportunity."

When asked to draw comparisons between Selvaraghavan and director Ram, with whom she worked in Thanga Meenkal, Shelly laughs and comes up with an interesting analogy. "They're poles apart — like the sun and the moon! They are two completely contrasting styles of filmmakers. Ram sir lets us blink, frown, do whatever we want. He is very patient, liberal and realistic. But one thing that's common is they both are perfectionists."

Perfection is something Shelly also seeks in whatever she does. A multi-tasker, Shelly has never been a full-time actor. She once owned an institution in Dubai where she taught Yoga. She is currently into content writing and works as a freelancer. "I don't like being monotonous. So I keep juggling. I can't just depend on acting alone for financial stability." In this age of social media, where it has become more like a prerequisite for an actor to market and put themselves out, there's Shelly, who still prefers it the old-school way. "I'm aware that I'm getting only very few offers, but to be honest, I don't know how to market myself. Even after Minnal Murali, I didn't get many projects as people presume. In fact, I got Naane Varuvean because of that film, but strangely, nothing came up from Malayalam." The actor, who has a couple of Telugu web series lined up, signs off by remarking that she's always ready to take up 'interesting' projects, but on one condition. "The pay should be good. I'll only work if people pay me. I'm not looking for opportunities to "prove myself" anymore. That phase is over."