The newbie walks in for the official press meet, to discuss her debut movie. She is accompanied by the director, production controller, actors Tini Tom and Kalaranjini. Decked up in a gown, dabbing her face with her hands to stop the make-up from spreading, the lights are on her now. One cannot unsee the resemblance, she looks a lot like Kalaranjini, but wait, she also looks like her other aunty Urvashi and is very much like her mother, late actor Kalpana.
Yes, the little girl is all grown up and ready to take centre stage. Sreesankhya is walking down the path her family had paved before her. She will play the female lead in the movie titled Kunjiyammayum Anjumakkalum. As she sits down for a tête-à-tête, her aunty, Kalaranjini, is by her side, an ever graceful presence. There are a lot of expectations on young Sreesankhya. Does that scare her? “Yes, that term is scary. Even in school, I never used to take part in any cultural event. I always wondered what people would think if I erred. I come from a family of artists. So I kept away from everything.” Sreesankhya spoke about her interest in joining the film industry only after she completed class XII. She is just into the first year of her Visual Communications course in SRM, Chennai.
“She had planned to take Psychology,” says her aunt. “Yes, I was interested in Psychology, but just after my class XII exams, it dawned on me, ‘Why not step into the film industry?’” Sreesankhya will be playing a character a few years older than her. About this she says, “Because this is my first time, I do not know what kind of preparedness I should have. I guess I am going to take the dialogues and deliver them as the situation requires.” She adds, “Karthu is the one who tells me what to do and how to go about things.”
“Karthu is what all these kids call me fondly. I will accompany her to the locations,” chips in Kalaranjini. And how did her ‘podiamma’ (Urvashi) react to her decision to join films? “ I told her about my wish and she didn’t say no.” “It is our mother who makes all the decisions at home. The script was selected by Amma and myself,” says Kalaranjini. “Yes, Amma’s decision is final and none of us can disobey her,” says Sreesankhya about her grandmother. Even the new name ‘Sreesankhya’ is her grandmother’s gift.
