Actor and dreamer: Sunu Lakshmi

It is not uncommon to see Malayali actors bucking the trend and debuting in other industries before being offered a role in Mollywood. Kochi-based Sunu Lakshmi has been having a dream run in Kollywood having acted in six films, the most recent being actress Nayanthara’s untitled production venture. There is more than what meets the eye as far as Sunu is concerned.

She is a dancer, choreographer and also a fashion designer who designed her own costumes for the Tamil film Beer. An MBA graduate, she nurtures a desire to do her Civil Services. It obviously is a lot on her plate but she coolly adds one more to the mix — “I want to direct a film too!” Films draw her like a magnet. She has been signed on for a role in the upcoming Malayalam film Shajahanum Pareekuttiyum which came to her via lyricist Rajeev Alunkal.

Since she was already acquainted with director Boban Samuel's wife Rashmi, she decided to say yes to the role of Aju Varghese’s wife who is a Tamilian. Her no-show in Mollywood, she adds, is because she does not know how to network. She also opines, “People tell me that I look like a Tamilian and I kept on getting offers one after the other after my first Tamil film released, so I was very busy in Kollywood. That is the reason why I could not do any film in Malayalam.”

Coming back to her Tamil projects, she is excited about her upcoming untitled project produced by Nayanthara. Sunu says, “I play a mother of two and though I cannot divulge anything more about the role, what I can say is that my character expresses more through her face than her dialogues!”

Sunu also has no qualms about playing mother roles mentioning that it is common in Kollywood. Also in hand is a Hindi/Tamil bilingual which will see her in dual roles, one from the upper strata and the other from a poor family. Though a woman of many talents, there is a dream she has been secretly working towards and as a first step, she also did a trial run. She reveals the suspense, “I want to direct a film by 2017 and as a small prequel, I directed a short film. Even when I come for a shoot, I observe how the director works. I have also worked as an associate in Tamil films and would love to work as an associate for a Malayalam film too!”