Arthana, Lady Luck's favourite

Arthana Binu has no role model. “Everyone inspires me,” says the actress. It has been over a year since she made her M-town entry through Mudhugauv; since then she wasn’t seen much in Malayalam. But her hands are quite full with three-back-to-back Tamil movies, one of them, a Samuthirakani directorial. The other two — Semma and Vennila Kabadikuzhu 2 — are gearing up for release. Looking back, the Thiruvananthapuram girl credits it all to luck. 

“My debut movie was in Telugu — Seethamma Andalu Ramayya Sitralu. Then came the others,” clarifies Arthana, who started off by anchoring TV shows and acting in ads, short films and music videos. Actor-producer Sandra Thomas spotted her at a show and offered her Mudhugauv. “Movies have been my dream since childhood. Luckily, I was at the right place at the right moment and got referred to many projects,” she adds.

All the three Tamil movie offers came together and confused her. But, call it luck again, the makers were willing to adjust the schedules without any date clash. The most memorable offer was from Samuthirakani, whom she calls ‘a silent motivator’.  “Kani sir doesn’t speak much, but he keeps on motivating with his charisma. When I was offered the role in Thondan, I asked what the character was, to which he replied: ‘Good girl’. I still don’t know if he meant me or the character,” she laughs. 

Thondan saw her in a bold avatar — a village girl who leads a rebellion — the best role that has happened to her. In the upcoming Semma, she pairs up with actor-musician G.V. Prakash Kumar. “Semma was the first Tamil movie I was offered. Working with an all-rounder like GV made me very nervous. In fact, we warmed up to each other only during the last two days of the shooting,” she says.

Having worked in three industries, Arthana doesn’t prefer one to another. “Each set and people are different. So we can’t say that this particular industry is the best. My preference is the roles and movies I do. I want to act in all languages if possible,” says a hopeful Arthana, who is currently pursuing a diploma course in psychology counseling. She is in no hurry to sign up for all the movies that come her way. “I will take up only the ones that tempt me. So far, I could grab the best ones. Next, I want to dub in Tamil,” she says.