Pradhama Drishtiya Kuttakkar opened to rave reviews, and one of its lead stars, Parvathy Thiruvothu, is sitting with its success with gratitude for the understanding she shares with her audience. Over two decades of her work in the film industry, she has arrived at a relationship with her viewers that she describes, simply, as a miracle: they will show up for a good film even when they don't agree with the person off-screen.
That, she says, is the healthiest thing an actor can ask for.
September has seen Thiruvothu embodying a police officer in two different projects. Pradhama Drishtiya Kuttakkar stars the actor as officer Aleena, one of the film's leading officers, and Daayra, Meghna Gulzar's cop drama, has Parvathy lending her voice to Kareena Kapoor Khan's character DCP Ajooni Kohli in the film's Malayalam dub.
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter India, the actor discusses pursuing two different cop roles in different capacities, her first time dubbing for another actor in a film, and the treasured relationship she shares with her audience.
Pradhama Drishtiya Kuttakkar has been receiving great reviews, and your first-ever dubbing role for the Malayalam-language version of Daayra recently opened in theatres too. How does it all feel?
There has been, for at least the last decade, a very interesting relationship between me and the audience; the kind of work I do, and the things I stand up for. People have always had their personal opinions about that, whether they like or don't like me for it. They've been very vocal about it, especially the audience in Kerala.
But one thing they have let happen is this phenomenon, which I think is a miracle â they watch and make my movie a hit if it's a good movie. They may not like me for many other reasons, but they will say, "That movie was fantastic and you were great."
This is the epitome of a healthy relationship an actor can have with their audience. I cherish that for a lifetime. It's never for the sake of likeability, which I love.
Aleena steps into the uniform out of grief, not ambition. What drew you to the character?
There have been roles that came to me similar to the usual cop-movie typecast â the character fully in uniform and fully in investigative mode. I've already played a cop, a high-ranking police officer, in Dhootha. There, the entire spectrum for DCP Kranti Shenoy is finding the culprit and closing the case successfully. With Aleena, I enjoyed the opposite of that.
She wants to do a good job, she wants to make her family and herself proud, but this is a woman a lot of women can relate to; she's never been thriving, she's always been surviving. She's been an orphan, had to grow up alone, then had a husband, and then lost him. So now there is this inner fire, which goes, "What I have right now in my life, I'm not willing to lose."
What happens to a person's morality, their inner compass, when it comes to protecting what little they have... that's always a tingling curiosity for me. We feel like, if it were me, I wouldn't have done that. It's such a quick thing to say, but we never know how we would react, how our wrongs become right when we are the ones who do it. When we are pushed, no matter how privileged or not we are, we might make questionable choices too. That's just part of being human.
What was it like sharing the screen with Vijay Raghavan, Unnimaya Prasad and Matthew Thomas? For a film like this, did your performances feed off each other?
For sure! The first few days, we were just getting into the movie. So initially, we had an âinducted into a new school togetherâ feel, but very quickly it became a family. What was very interesting is that the characters go through a lot, but that doesn't last through the set. Most of the time, we'd look at one of us being out of character a little, and everyone would catch it and call it out... so comfortably friendly.
Hands-off actors like Azees Nedumangad are so impeccable with their tonal timing and dialogue delivery that we just can't keep a straight face on set! Even though the movie got increasingly complicated, we got increasingly childlike while filming. So that was fun.
How did the opportunity to voice Kareena Kapoor Khan's character Ajooni in Daayra come along?
I was on the set of a project, when I got a call saying Meghna Gulzar wants to talk to me. I leapt off my seat like, of course, give her my number. I had no idea what to expect; I thought it was maybe a project to act in.
When she explained it was to give my voice for Kareena as Ajooni, it was such a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect it because I was not actively planning for it in my career. But I believe heavily that you put things out there and the universe gives it back to you. Maybe I prayed that I wanted to expand as an artist, wishing we had more animation movies, where I could do voice acting.
Kareena has a very specific, recognisable voice and tonality. Attempting that without failing her was a big risk. That's exactly what I wished for, to get more risks. Under Meghna's guidance, to explore that for the first time was great. I hope I can attract more of it now.
I had to tell myself it's not acting the way I would interpret it, it has to be the way Kareena interpreted it, and it has to be me honouring it. There are no liberties I can take there. She's done it to perfection, but honouring her interpretation of Ajooni was massive.
Now, I have a newfound respect for dubbing artists. There are dubbing artists who've done this job for me in other languages I haven't spoken in, and if the movies worked in those particular languages, it's because they carried what I did on-screen well.
It's not easy, because it comes from within... (understanding) how the actor would speak, then putting the blinkers on, doing right by what they have done, and then bringing the language aspect into it.
What's next for Parvathy Thiruvothu?
There's an ongoing project I've already finished. I have another two Malayalam films coming up, and there's a Hindi project, but that can't be discussed, it hasn't been announced officially.
Storm is brewing a storm still. It's in the editor and director's hands, and shaping up really well from what I hear from the team.
I hope to continue this streak of working on multiple projects together, and then I'll retire, buy a farmland somewhere, and go tend to sheep or something. That's the dream.