Carrying a tune and effortlessly twirling through a scene is not difficult for Remya Nambeesan. To some in the audience, her roles in films like Chaapa Kurishu, Left Right Left, Traffic, Phillips and the Monkey Pen or Tamil films like Pizza and Sethupathi come to mind whenever her name is mentioned. Yet some others may recall her husky voice singing chartbusters like Aandalonde, Muthuchippi Poloru in Malayalam or FY fy fy from the Tamil Pandianadu. An actor-cum-singer who has found acclaim in both fields, Remya has proved time and again that she is no flash in the pan as far as her talents go. She has proved beyond a shadow of doubt that she is capable of pulling off complex characters and when the occasion calls for it, giving them further life through song and dance.
The actor has found the time to space out her dual talents and nurture each of them. Adding numbers to her filmography has never been a priority, which is why she has signed a Mollywood project after three years, discounting her cameo appearance in the film Honeybee 2.5 where she played herself. Remya will be seen in the upcoming film Virus directed by Aashiq Abu, based on the Nipah outbreak in Kozhikode, which boasts of a heady lineup of artists including Aashiq’s wife Rima.
“I wanted to come back to Malayalam with a good role and when I heard the script of Virus and my part, I just could not say no! Nobody in their right frame of mind would have rejected it,” she begins, continuing, “There is a very relevant theme being discussed, though I cannot reveal anything about the film or my role.”
Though she may not be as active in Malayalam, it does not mean she is sitting idle. Remya has the Vijay Sethupathi-starrer Seethakaathi coming up in which she has a cameo role and this marks her third collaboration with him after Pizza and Sethupathi. Also in hand is the Bobby Simha-starrer Agni Dev wherein she plays the female lead. She says, “I play Bobby’s wife who is a journalist. It is based on a true story.” Other than that are roles in upcoming films like Natpuna Ennanu Theriyuma, which is an urban comedy, and the Kannada film Kurukshetra, based on the Mahabharata.
Well, she is certainly busy. Is that why she is giving Malayalam films a pass? Ever frank, she is candid enough to answer, “I get a lot of offers from Tamil and Malayalam but subjects with substance come to me from Tamil. I accept those and it makes people think that I am working only in Tamil films.”
She staunchly declares that it is not like Malayalam films have a dearth of subjects, explaining, “There is a lot of new technology being used in Mollywood as also fresh themes being experimented with. I really enjoyed watching Sudani from Nigeria, which had a lot of lively characters. There is this exciting phase of change happening in Malayalam.” Remya feels the audience is also evolving along with the scripts and making, be it in Malayalam or the other industries. “People see cinema very seriously or one can even term cinema viewing as an inclusive experience. The audience criticises not only the actors but also the technicians. They are aware of camera angles, BGM and editing. Cinema, I feel has become more spread out now encompassing various parameters. It is no more categorised as a Tamil, Telugu or Kannada film. People are welcoming every kind of cinema,” she adds.
Remya, who has worked in all the Southern industries, doesn’t find a great difference between the industries except for the language. How can one not ask Remya about her singing opportunities? Here again, she mentions it is Tamil that is giving her more. “Yes, I am getting songs but I don’t want to be typecast in Dappamkoothu numbers. I would rather do melody numbers,” she stops a moment and reveals,” I plan to do an original in another three or four months. I ultimately want to concentrate on not only movies but also concerts.”
Though she seems happy when she says this, a keen ear can detect a certain weariness in her words. That tiredness stems from the recent floods that devastated the State. Remya is a member of WCC, who resigned from AMMA in order to express her solidarity with a survivor of sexual assault. The WCC members had been actively engaged in lifting the morale of the affected, visiting camps and regaling them with songs. They are continuing with fundraising activities.
“It is all about reviving Kerala. All of us should stand together to rebuild a new Kerala. Being at the ground level, seeing and hearing about the effect of the floods on the lives of people is a profound experience. On my part, I feel I am just returning back to normalcy,” she ends.
