Malayalee forever

Just four years — it was for just four years that Nithya Ramesh lived in Kerala. Though she shifted to Bengaluru, where she settled and completed her studies, she always held Malayalam and Malayalees close to her heart. That is why this engineer-turned-filmmaker, who has been assisting Ram Gopal Varma, decided to include Malayalam as one of the languages for her debut directorial venture — Never Invite. This short movie has also been filmed in Tamil, Telugu and English. “Though I am not a Malayali by birth, I feel I am part of this culture as the first years of my lfie were spent in Kerala. I was staying at Kovalam in Thiruvananthapuram because of my parents were working there till 1996. I started my schooling during that period and later shifted to Bengaluru,” recalls Nithya.

Since childhood, her dream was to become an actress. “Even though my dream was to become an actress and I’ve been getting many offers, I did not go to study films. I completed my engineering and started working in a firm in Bengaluru. It was through one of my friends that I got acquainted with Ram Gopal Varma sir and joined him as his assistant,” says Nithya, who has worked in RGV’s upcoming film Sarkar 3. Why did she choose Malayalam for her debut? “I am an ardent fan of Malayalam films. I think it is the industry which gives importance to good subjects. May be M’town films would be not bigger in terms of budget compared to other language films, but filmmakers don’t compromise on quality. Within the small budget, directors here are making technically good films,” says the new director.

On her favourites in Malayalam, she says, “I am a fan of Mohanlal, whose Kireedam is my all-time favourite. When it comes to directors, I admire Joshiy. I am happy to say that I could associate with him during the production of his film Laila O Laila through its producer Santhosh, who is my friend.” Nithya considers Telugu directors Puri Jagannadh and Thriekoti Peta as her mentors. “It was while working in Bengaluru that I met them and they supported me to go ahead with my passion. Puri sir was the one who launched the first look poster of Never Invite,” she says, adding, “It comes under horror genre. Along with scripting and direction, I also play the lead role.”

Never Invite will be released next month. In the meantime, Nithya has completed the screenplay for her debut feature film. Will that also speak four languages? “No, this time, I am going to concentrate on Malayalam. As I said earlier, it is this language which motivates me to do films and I feel the industry offers space for newcomers.” Nithya adds that the yet-to-be-titled film is based on a true event. “As of now, I am not free to talk much about the subject. But I can say that it will be an adaptation of an incident that happened in Rajasthan. I am composing this screenplay also in horror tune. I hope, it will go on floors in six months.” So what about her acting dreams? “I am getting many offers from Malayalam as well as Telugu. But I have not yet committed to any of that as I did not find those subjects up to the mark. Some projects are under discussion,” she concludes.