Nikki Galrani Interview: Double Homecoming
For Nikki Galrani, the release of her latest film, Virunnu, originally shot in Malayalam and dubbed in Tamil as Virundhu, acts as a double homecoming. While Galrani started her career with the 2014 Malayalam coming-of-age film 1983, she went on to star in Tamil films like Darling (2015), Ko 2 (2016), Velainu Vandhutta Vellaikaaran (2016), and Maragadha Naanayam (2017). Virundhu, co-starring Arjun, is her comeback to the big screen after two years. The actor, who is currently busy with pre-production for the sequel to Maragadha Naanayam, sat down for an exclusive chat.
Excerpts:
How much of your performances are based on guidance from the script, and how much of it is your own reading?
It depends on the scene. For some scenes, the director or the team tells me exactly what they expect me to do. In others, I have to read in between the lines. I think I've gotten better at it. Earlier, I was a director's actor; I did what the director instructed me to do. But now, I am in the process of pushing it and bringing in my own sense of comprehension.
Your character in Virundhu is someone who undergoes trauma and shock but doesn't have the time to process it since she is constantly on the run. How did you get into the psyche of such a role?
That's an interesting question. The underlying issue with my character, Perly, is that she is always disturbed and preoccupied. I am not someone who follows method acting. I act in between action and cut, and I don't live with my characters. Hence, my challenge was to maintain the same mood throughout the film. I had to understand the baggage that Perly carries and perform my scenes with the awareness that there can't be a sudden smile or jump at any instance.
Perly has a sense of agency, and she's able to defend herself even if she's not a full-blown action hero. Are these unusual roles something you usually gravitate toward?
These unusual roles are something I am gravitating toward currently. I want to do more intense roles that will push me not only as an actor but also as a person. I also want to do more content-oriented roles.
Where do you see the 'heroine' in South Indian cinema head towards?
I just hope it becomes a better world for heroines. It is not easy at all. It's a male-dominated environment, and on top of it, there's so much competition. This is not me complaining; this is just a fact. I wish we were given more space to shine. This statement isn't relevant only to the film industry—women are finding their footing slowly, but at this pace, it might take generations to attain equality. So I hope it hurries up.