New Kollywood mom on the block
Actress says that her entry into tinsel town was purely accidental though
By : anupama subramanian
Update: 2015-08-23 00:14 GMT
Until recently, it was Lakshmi Ramakrishnan who was the most sought-after ‘mother character’ in Tamil cinema. After she moved on to wielding the megaphone, looks like it will be the pretty Gayathri Raman who will fill the void! The model-turned-actress says that her entry into tinsel town was purely accidental though. “My daughter Shodasi was a child model and I used to accompany her for shoots. Many people ask me to try out modeling as I had a photogenic face. But I was not keen at all. One day, I got an offer to model as a housewife for a national product and my co-star was actor Madhavan! They persuaded me to finally agree, and soon enough, film offers came calling,” Gayathri explains.
She adds, “Mine is an orthodox family, so I was hesitant at first. It was Susi Ganesan who convinced me that it was a crucial character and asked me to be a part of his film Thiruttu Payale as Sonia Agarwal’s mother. The next film that followed was Madhavan-starrer Vaazhthukkal where I did the role of Bhavana’s mother.”
Now, having completed more than fifteen films, Gayathri says that the film industry has come of age. “The gen-next are really professional and going to shooting has an office atmosphere of sorts.”
Heaping praises on Shruti Haasan with whom she joined hands in Puli, Gayathri says, “I essay the role of her mom and it is a rural role in a period setup. Shruti is so down-to-earth and always mingles with everyone in a friendly manner. She talks about her dad and sister Akshara often, and shows us all pictures on her phone."
Despite being so famous, Ilayathalapathy Vijay is also a really humble person, she reveals, "I had quite a few combination scenes with Vijay sir. But during the breaks, he wouldn't go to his vanity van, but sit under the tree along with us and chat. His sense of humor is amazing as well.”