Sheelu Abraham has been flooded with curious calls ever since the trailer of Sadrishyavakyam released. The bits and pieces of visuals and dialogues give an idea about the genre — a thriller. It also has glimpses of Sheelu as a boxer and a housewife, going through disturbed, angry and even maniac moments, also with a few punchy dialogues.
The never-before-seen avatar has evoked enough inquisitiveness. Laughing, Sheelu says that Anna is the best and toughest role she has played so far. “This is the first movie centered around my character. And it is a dream role for me as Anna goes through all the emotions a person feels in a lifetime. It was very challenging, yet very interesting,” says the pretty actress, who didn’t have to think twice before grabbing the offer when director N. Prasanth and screenwriter Shiju Nambiyath approached her. “It’s not every day you get to see a movie led by a woman character throughout.” Her excitement is evident, but she wouldn’t reveal further details and spoil the suspense.
“This is my big movie after Puthiya Niyamam. Though I agreed to do it, when the shooting began, I had apprehensions if I could carry it off well. But everything went great, I hope,” she says. The Bharananganam slang hasn’t left her despite living in Mumbai for years. “I haven’t changed a bit despite acting in movies and travelling to and fro every week. I am a person who happily depends on my husband for everything. Every move I make is after getting his consent,” she adds. Her husband — Abraham Mathew of Abaam Movies — has been her constant support. “He is the one who inspired me to take the leap,” says Sheelu, who had taken a break from her nursing career and passion for dancing when marriage and motherhood came her way.
During school, college days, Sheelu used to win state-level dance competitions and receive lots of film offers from Malayalam and Telugu. But her family was strictly against movies and she had to bury her hopes. Now, a decade into marriage, she has become an actress and is back to dancing. A third-year Bharatanatyam student at Mumbai University, Sheelu happily shuttles between dancing, acting and managing her home. “Even when there is shooting, I travel to Kerala in the morning and am back in Mumbai by night,” she reveals.
Her latest movie is the Bejoy Nambiar-directorial Solo in which she played Dulquer Salmaan’s sister. Coming from her home production, the movie landed in a controversy after its climax was changed two days after the release without the director’s knowledge. Commenting on the issue, Sheelu says, “A movie is a director’s creativity, producer’s product and actor’s art. None can claim it as their sole property. It’s a combined work. Personally, I didn’t like the climax, which doesn’t cater to the Malayali mindset or culture. Any changes made were not to destroy a work of art, but to make a good impact. And from what I hear, it has worked well.”
