While Aaromaley brings together a mix of talents from different creative spaces, from actors who started out on social media to those from established film families, its cast remains refreshingly candid about their personal journeys. In a conversation with CE ahead of the film’s release, actors Shivathmika and Kishen Das addressed the often-debated “nepo kid” tag and reflected on the privileges and misconceptions that come with it.
Shivathmika, daughter of veteran actors Rajashekar and Jeevitha, acknowledged that while her lineage opened doors, it never guaranteed her a role. “I might have gotten contacts easily because I am Rajashekar and Jeevitha’s daughter. In fact, a producer once attended my birthday party and asked me to audition for a film, something that doesn’t happen to every aspiring actor. But I have never landed a role just because I’m their daughter. I’ve auditioned for every project I’ve done, and one film’s performance has led to the next. My sister found it even more difficult despite being their daughter. At the end of the day, the audience will not watch you onscreen because of who your parents are. They will only support talent.”
Kishen, who is the son of television actor Brinda Das, also shared his perspective on the label. “All my classmates in college wanted to be actors, but only three of us got a chance to enter the industry. So if someone feels I got an opportunity because my mother is an actor, I can understand where that frustration comes from. Their anger is probably directed at someone who is actually misusing that privilege. The advantage I did have growing up was getting to visit film and serial sets because of my mother’s shoots. I learnt a lot from simply being in that environment,” he said.
Helmed by Sarang Thiagu, Aaromaley also has Harshath Khan, VTV Ganesh, Megha Akash, Tulasi, Sibi Jayakumar, Namritha MV, and Sandhya Winfred in its cast. Siddhu Kumar is composing the music for the film. The crew of the film also includes Gowtham Rajendran as the director of photography and Praveen Antony as the editor.
S Vinod Kumar is producing the film, with Aditi Ravindranath serving as the creative producer and Ram Kumar Arumugam as the executive producer. Mini Studios LLP is backing the film.
