It was not her home state of Kerala that set the stage for a string of fortuitous events to unfold, but the land of gold– Dubai, which proved to be her lucky charm. Radhika, who is still popular as Razia of the film Classmates, is currently settled in Dubai after her marriage to Abhil. All those who thought she had bid goodbye to acting, like many other actors, were in for two surprises. First, when news trickled in that she was playing the lead in the Shaji N. Karun film Oolu and the second, when her chic look with close-cropped hair had her looking years younger and glamorous.
There is a lilt in Radhika’s voice when she explains about these happy events. The offer from Shaji came as a surprise, she says. "He had come to Dubai as the chief guest of a music program and me and my hubby went to meet him. He enquired about my well being and projects. I told him that I was on a small break post marriage which is when he asked if I would be interested in acting,” Though caught by surprise, Radhika stated that she was always ready to don the grease paint for a good role. They exchanged numbers but never did Radhika fathom that Shaji would be offering her a role in his next film.
That took a while to materialise. After two months, Radhika got a message from Shaji asking for her recent photos. Radhika explains,” I did not have any, so I clicked some on my mobile and sent them to him.” Exactly a year later, she heard from his crew informing about a possible role. Radhika replied that she wanted to hear a one-liner and his associate sent it to her. It was the main role with Shane Nigam where she plays a painter named Meenakshi. “Even if it was a guest role in Shaji sir’s film, I would have done it. I flew down to Kerala for the shoot which was over in 20 days and then returned back to Dubai,” she gushes.
Asked if there was any nervousness facing the camera after a break, she reveals, “I was not scared acting in front of the camera, but there was a definite starting trouble which vanished after a day. The crew were also very friendly, especially sir who explained the character and scenes in detail. Most of my scenes were with Shane. Initially, there was a slight embarrassment which eventually vanished.” From professional to personal, she says that “life in Dubai after marriage is superb. It is after marriage that I travelled more and enjoyed life to the hilt. My husband loves to live life to the fullest, so it is one never-ending the saga of fun.” So what about the short hair chic look? Radhika credits that to her husband.
“My hair was damaged and I wanted to go for a haircut which is when my husband asked me to chop it short. He actually incited me to chop off my locks. Even before marriage, I wanted to go for a boy cut, but my parents; especially my father loved my long hair. Now my parents jokingly ask me to grow my hair back and then enter their house. But they liked it,” she adds happily. For those who took it for granted that she had bid goodbye to movies, she strongly says, “I never said that I will not act. The characters I play should have prominence and be integral to the story. Even before marriage I never got powerful roles and it was this lack of good roles that made me take a sabbatical.” For now, Radhika is raring to act!
