Enjoying the spotlight

Abeni Aadhi, the nine-year-old artist who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist is thrilled and excited about her upcoming movie, which is directed by her father Aadhi. The movie titled Panth, tells the story of Amina, a football lover. Abeni, who won the award last year for her performance in Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho, says her love for the game helped her in doing the role of Amina. “I had a training session in football. Though I love the game, I was not good at it. So prior to the shoot my daddy arranged training sessions,” says Abeni.

The film is not about football but about a girl who madly falls in love with the game and dreams about buying a football so she can play with her friends. “It is a family movie. More than the football and my love for the game, it talks about Amina’s relationship with her grandmother,” says Abeni’s mother Aruna, who was there with her daughter and husband during the shoot.

Abeni has the comfort of working with her father in this film. “Working with my father was fun. Though it was more challenging than my first film, I really enjoyed it. Also the fact that some of the co-stars had also acted in my first film made it easier,” Apart from football, she adores films. “Abeni loves Lionel Messi and Neymar. But her biggest love is cinema. She is a little movie buff and watches all types of movies. And she really like Prabhas,” added Aruna.

A class V student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom, Abeni has got huge support and love from her school, teachers and friends. The film was shot in several schedules in Kerala and Oman. “I have missed a lot of classes but the teachers really helped me,” says Abeni. The other cast members are Vineeth, Nedumudi Venu, Aju Varghese, Indrans, Irshad, Beegum Rabiya and Nilambur Aisha.  The film’s post-production works are going on. It is expected to hit the theaters soon.