When Parvathy's stunt double ran away

It has been four years since her debut film Poppins reached theatres. Though Parvathy Nair has acted in a couple of films in her first innings in Malayalam, it was her projects in Tamil industry — Ajith Kumar’s Yennai Arinthal and Kamal Hassan-starrer Uttamavillain – that made her more popular among film buffs. Now the actor is back in Malayalam with her first solo heroine film – Tham Thakam Pathakam.

“About her new project, she says, Even in Ne Ko Nja Cha and Poppins, I got heroine roles.But it is in Tham Thakam Pathakam that I essay solo heroine for the first time. It was last year that I got a call from its director John to this project.”

Parvathy recollects that it was John’s wife who had suggested her name for this film, when it was under pre-production. “Though I had gone to John’s studio, for the post production works of my previous films, we were not friends until I got call to his film. In fact, if I am not mistaken, I was not his first preference for this role. It was then that his wife suggested my name and that was how I became part of this project.” The actor will be seen as Radhika, wife of Vijay Babu’s character.

Unlike her earlier films, she had to do many risky shots. “Though the basic thread of the film has some connection with Steven Spielberg’s Duel, the script was written afresh. I had to do be part of many stunt sequences. Another interesting thing is that the body double, who was supposed to face camera instead of me, scooted from the shooting set just before the shoot. At last I did that action portion too,” she laughs.   

Parvathy, who is currently acting in actor Parthiban-directed Tamil film Koditta Idathai Nirappuga, will have yet another release in K’town – Enkitta Mothathe. “Enkitta Mothathe is a film set in the ‘80s. It depicts the story of two fans of Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth. In fact that role came to me around two years back. But I had to decline that offer, as I had committed to a film in Malayalam. That film failed to take off then and the makers of Enkitta Mothathe came to me again, asking me to choose one of the two leading roles – the fans of Kamal sir and Rajini sir. Since I have acted with Kamal sir in Uttamavillain, I chose his fan’s role,” says the actor, who has signed two Telugu films, too, which are under production.