I'm an actor, not a star: Sunainaa

Known for being choosy with her roles, Sunainaa is playing the heroine’s role after quite sometime in Samuthirakani’s Thondan. The film, which also stars Vikranth in the lead role, will see the actress play the role of a PT teacher. Talking more about her character, she says, “There are two sides to her — she is a bold, dominating woman who takes up every challenge in her life, and then an incident brings her to the lowest of lows. How she handles it forms the character arc.”

Although she has worked with Samuthirakani, who did a brief role in Neerparavai, Sunainaa says it was very new and rewarding to perform under his direction. “He is a very easy person to work with, because he expects you to be yourself. He only wants real and raw emotions on screen. We have some interesting combinations on screen — filled with sharp dialogues that everyone will enjoy,” she quips.

The film touches upon the sensitive topic of women’s safety in the country — one of the reasons why Sunainaa agreed to do the film. “There have been times when I couldn’t be at peace because of the fear of something happening to me. Nobody should live with that fear. The solution to all this starts small — at home. The film talks about this.” She says.

Talking about her career choices, the Vamsam actress says, “There have been films where I couldn’t relate to my roles and I have later regretted doing them. I don’t want that to happen in the future. I have always wanted to be known as an actor, not a star. So, I want to do films like Vamsam, Neerparavai or Thondan, which are relatable, and push me to rediscover myself.” Thondan is expected to release early in May.