Call her a die-hard optimist or a person with a spirit that refuses to be anything but positive, the beautiful, doe-eyed Ahaana Krishna has the patience and the ability to see the light at the end of the darkest tunnel.
How else do you explain her long and patient wait for the past five years to finally land a lead role in the Tovino Thomas-starrer Luca?
While many a newcomer would have hid behind veils of diplomacy and explained their subsequent character roles after playing the lead in their debut as being ‘selective’ or ‘waiting for the right role’, Ahaana will utter nothing of the sort.
Frankness has always been her hallmark and she candidly reveals, “After Njan Steve Lopez and Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela, I was not exactly bombarded with offers. Forget a lot of offers, after Njan Steve Lopez, I did not get a single offer! Basically, I was never in a situation where I would be offered 10 films and rejected five.” Such refreshing candor is hard to come by and that is Ahaana in a nut-shell. Today, Ahaana is in a happy space. Her role as Niharika Banerjee in Luca has been applauded for a balanced performance that has her on cloud nine.
A still from Luca
This was a role she heard of much before she signed for Njandukalude... — almost two years back. Her friend Nimish Ravi, the cinematographer of Luca, suggested her name to director Arun Bose. Actually, there is a twist to the story of how the actor landed the role. She was initially helping her friend Nimish find a producer for Luca so that Nimish could make his debut as a cinematographer and in the process, she got acquainted with Arun. Then one day, out of the blue Nimish called her sharing that Arun was considering her for the role of Niharika.
Ahaana continues, “I was happy hearing this but did not let it go to my head.
After all, this was cinema, where anything could change at any moment.”
Mercifully, it did not! Ahaana was later apprised of her character and she immediately said yes. “After all, what was there to refuse? I had a beautiful role, the story was so engrossing and my co-star was Tovino,” she says.
It was after all this that Ahaana got a copy of the script and realised that this was a dream role she always wanted to play. However, she had to wait for a year and a half for the film to take off. That wait had a silver lining. “I had the script with me all along and here I was sitting at home twiddling my thumbs. So, whenever I was feeling bored or low or disappointed about my career, I would read through the script to cheer me up. I must have read the script 160 times, which meant that I was familiar with every character’s dialogues in the film,” she laughs.
Playing Niharika was no laughing matter, though. It was a character that demanded joy, sadness, strength, love, playfulness and deep pain. With her trademark frankness, Ahaana responds that she was too excited about her role to worry. “In the past five years, there was a thirst in me to get a meaty role and feel relevant on the sets, which made playing the role easy for me. I had a monologue that lasted five minutes and was taken in a single shot, which again did not faze me. I can best describe myself as a kid in a candy store. Be it a shot in the rain or under the sun, all I wanted was to act my part and wait for the film to get released soon! Excitement was the only force driving me.”
Working with Tovino was a very comfortable experience for her and that chemistry translated on screen to make for a perfect romance. The pair used to discuss their scenes and the synergy helped pull off their romantic track.
If Tovino plays a romantic lead, can a lip-lock be far behind? Ahaana shared a kiss with Tovino in the film about which she says, “I knew this sequence was part of the script and whatever was there in the film was required to enhance the story. Each scene had a purpose and I believe that if something adds beauty to a sequence, I am all for it but I am not OK with adding elements just for commercial value and to draw audiences to the theatre. Everyone around was very professional and all I could think of was making the said scene look tasteful and aesthetic!” It must be highlighted that Ahaana stood shoulder to shoulder with Tovino with regard to screen space. “If two actors are on an equal footing, it brings out the best of two worlds and adds more beauty than a person standing alone!”
Niharika looked like an extension of Ahaana what with her carefree extrovert ways, a bohemian sense of dressing and unaffected dialogue delivery especially the way she addresses Luca as edo. So, how much of Ahaana is there in Niharika? She answers, “A lot,” explaining that she did not have to undergo any major physical transformation to step into the character. “Niharika is an emotional person much like me and she gives a lot of importance to love and family like me. Though she looks very modern, she is a homebody. If I were in her position, I would be in a dream world giving the person I love my all! I did not try to be Niharika; I was her!”she states.
While on the subject of romance, what is Ahaana’s idea of love and romance? Again, no coy, diplomatic answer. Ahaana spills the beans. “For me, respect is more important than love in a relationship. When I love somebody, I would go all out to express my love. I would even be a brand ambassador of public affection! I am a very romantic person and my future husband will be very lucky,” she says amid peals of laughter adding that romantic scenes are a cakewalk for her due to her mile wide romantic streak.
Ahaana is looking forward to Pathinettam Padi which has an ensemble cast and will release next Friday. She plays the character Anne in the movie. “I do a cameo and I was initially apprehensive about it because I was not so popular.
The character let me explore the actor in me.” Pidikittapulli is another upcoming film and Ahaana couldn’t be happier. “Soon after my debut, I realised that I wanted to be an actor, but then no offers came my way. Initially, I had my college studies to keep me busy. After Njandukalude... I gave a lot of auditions and got rejected in some. I used to cry and feel sad, but I never lost sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. Also, I was not waging a lone war since my family was always with me- supporting my dream. Life is like that but I had a conviction that I would make it!”
The romantic in her ends by wistfully sharing, “I actually wish I was Niharika in the world of Luca minus the tragedy.”
