Playing the first fiddle

Did anyone have an inkling that Nayanthara’s close buddy in Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal was a Malayali? On big screen, not many would recognise Kala Kalyani, a girl born, raised, educated and groomed in a humble family of Thiruvananthapuram, that quickly. Regardless of her Tamil roots, there are enough reasons to call Kala Kalyani our very own girl-next-door in every respect.

Calculating the time and space from Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal, it’s quite astonishing an ascent in Kala’s filmography in just two years. Gosh! she is the leading lady in the Tamil flick Engeyum Naan Iruppen. The maiden Tamil innings of Mylanchi Monchulla Veedu director Benny Thomas is gearing up for a September release.

Kala was speaking to us two days after the movie was previewed before a select audience. She plays a pampered little sister of four brothers, whose life turns topsy-turvy once she falls for a boy.

“The catchy script attracted me to the film that gives much prominence to my role. It’s a real story and has suspense ingredients to keep the viewers on the edge of the seat till the end. The movie absorbs the rustic charm in all its grace and I’m a tip-to-toe village belle,” gushes Kala.

A classical dancer by profession, Kala shifted base to Chennai three years ago and opened a dance school. But the passion to act topped everything that came her way. She is unwilling to compromise for anything short of a worthwhile character. “In a sentence, I can tell my selection of movies — I am ‘choosy’. This is a role I have been waiting to do. Tamil industry has plenty of room for the kind of roles I am looking for and will fit into. The language is so comfortable for me. I still listen to scripts, but I have my reservations for not taking the route to fame through onscreen intimacy or skin show,” she says while throwing light on her decision as she hails from a conservative background.

In between her first and second T-Town outings, Kala had a short-time appearance for Mohanlal-starrer Lailaa O Lailaa. In film industry, Kala is not alone. Her singer sister Latha Krishna — who crooned a number of songs for Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films — gives her a company. Engeyum Naan Iruppen though yet to hit the screens, Kala has signed her next in Tamil, a movie to go on floors in October.