Films are but a reflection of the society and most films revolve around subjects that are in the news. The increase in atrocities committed against women has been a favourite subject among filmmakers and a theme that is very relevant in the present scenario. Director Sohan Seenulal has come up with a film titled as Vanyam that delves into the emotional psyche of a rape victim. Playing the lead role in Vanyam is Aparna Nair who plays a very pious nun Sister Aneetta, who is subjected to a brutal rape by three men. Other than the social stigma, she is also forced to leave the church. Rather than remaining docile, she chooses to fight back.
A strong role, it is enough to get the actor in Aparna excited. She says, “Contrary to talk, I was not on any sabbatical from Mollywood. I was getting the same kind of roles that I had done and I did not want them. When I heard Vanyam’s script, what attracted me was the story’s relevance in today’s scenario where we hear or read of four or five rapes every day. One of the reasons pointed out by a section of the society is that a woman’s provocative dressing style. In Vanyam, it is a fully clothed nun who is raped by three men. Coincidentally, it was while the shoot was progressing that a nun was actually raped in North India.”
Aparna is one who chooses roles solely on their merit and not on the basis of the banner or the cast. She will be seen as a fisherwoman in her upcoming film Thamara. The film is shot largely in water and she plays a nomadic woman who lives her life on a boat. This film talks about the hazards of depositing plastic waste in water bodies. She adds, “An actress is not someone who walks behind the hero and runs around trees with him. I am fed up of such roles; I have done a limited number of films but want to make sure that whatever role I do has something substantial to it and want to prove my talent.”
The break from films gave her time to pursue her classical dance lessons. Incidentally, Aparna won a prize for Kathakali at the Youth Festival years back. Her tinsel town projects did not give her time to pursue her dance lessons but she has now seriously started practising. She mentions, “I have performed on stage and in temples.” Before signing off, she quips, “I am prepared to wait for a good role.”
