Malavika Mohanan: A star redefining girl power and cinema across languages

ACCLAIMED actress Malavika Mohanan has demonstrated her tremendous talent in high-profile movies across multiple languages.

Apart from showing off her immense acting range in films like Beyond The Clouds, Master and Thangalaan, she has also exuded immense star power onscreen. This has led to her gaining a huge global fan base, becoming a strong symbol of girl power and delivering stunning style statements. With huge movies on the way, including in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, the actress is sure to raise temperatures further.

Eastern Eye caught up with the popular star to discuss her acting journey, versatility, fanbase, dream role, inspirations, fashion, girl power and best advice she ever got. She also revealed a few things not many people know about her and ambitious future hopes.

How do you reflect on your acting journey?

I started with a Malayalam movie. Then I went on to work with renowned Oscar-nominated director Majid Majidi on a Hindi-language film. I also did Master, which is one of the biggest hits in Tamil.

So the journey has been across different languages, with top filmmakers and so many actors. It’s all been so unexpected and diverse. With the creative field, you can only plan so much, and then it’s just faith, destiny and where life takes you.

Having said that, the most exciting phase of my career is right now. I’m working on many interesting films in different languages because the barriers between all the industries have evaporated.

Which of your characters has been closest to your heart?

It’s a very tricky question, because you’ve been invested in every part you’ve played – it’s like asking a parent to choose between the kids. There are projects which have been harder to execute, and by extension, you’ve invested a lot more of yourself in that role. But I don’t have one favourite. Every role has marked a different phase of my career and seeped into who I am today.

Which role challenged you most?

I would say my recent release, Thangalaan, in which I played a tribal goddess. That was very challenging, because I had to take my body to places, I had never pushed it before. I had so many action sequences that my body had to look a certain way. So, there was martial arts training, gymnastics, strength training and many levels of pushing my physical boundaries, for an extended period. That was very interesting because now I know what my body is capable of. I would have never discovered that if not for this film.

How do you select a project?

There are so many analytical and logistical parameters to think of, but at the end of it all, it comes down to a gut instinct. Filmmaking is such a collaborative art form. It’s not like being a painter or sculptor, where you’re solo. So, before pouring so much energy, craft and time into something, you want to make sure that you’re working with good collaborators.

 Tell us about the gut instinct aspect?

Sometimes I read a subject’s one liner and think it would be good for me. Other times I’ve gotten huge offers opposite big actors in major films, but didn’t think playing that role would do me well at that point. There are no right or wrongs, but there is a lot of gut instinct.

Is it a coincidence that you do different roles in such a variety of languages?

With acting it is impossible to make a plan. We can work hard on our skill sets, but so much of it is things beyond our control, whether we call it fate, destiny or luck. In that regard, offers have come to me at different points in my career.

So, it’s not been a plan, but going with the flow and making the most of opportunities that have come my way. It’s such a good time – I’m working on a Telugu, Tamil and Hindi film. Each industry is transcending barriers.

How much has doing a wide range of work inspired you as an actor?

What inspires me as an actor is being able to tap into completely different characters. Playing similar roles back to back would bore me. In my forthcoming films all the roles are different to one another. Only then is it fun, right?

If you’re in the creative field, you want challenges every day. Those artistic challenges keep things interesting. So, picking entirely different characters, cracking them one by one, peeling off the layers like an onion, inspires me. It gives me this adrenaline rush.

You have acted in various Indian languages, but can you see yourself working in the West?

I’m so greedy to work with good filmmakers, be it somebody like SS Rajamouli from Telugu cinema or Quentin Tarantino, who is a favourite filmmaker in the West. Wong Kar-wai, Darren Aronofsky and Christopher Nolan are other favourite directors. I want to work with the best filmmakers everywhere and wherever life can take me.

 Do you have a dream role?

I want to play a mythological character from a different world or era, like a queen, princess or warrior. Growing up, I loved to read Indian mythology, so a character in one of those worlds would excite me.

I would love to play a gangster, because I don’t think we’ve seen a cool female gangster in Indian cinema. We’ve seen men play suave gangsters, but not a woman, so that would be very interesting.

Who would you love to work with?

My list is endless. I would really love to collaborate with Ranbir Kapoor. He’s a fabulous actor, the complete package and can play any role with so much conviction. I would love to work with Shah Rukh Khan. As I said, I would love to work with so many filmmakers like Zoya Akhtar, SS Rajamouli, Mani Ratnam, Imtiaz Ali and Vishal Bharadwaj. I’m drawn to filmmakers who write good roles for women and have proper character arcs for their female characters. That really makes me feel artistically greedy.

How do you feel about being a strong symbol of girl power?

I didn’t know that I’m seen as a strong symbol of girl power. That’s really sweet. Thank you for saying that.

I feel like women across all generations and at every point, like our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, have always been strong. Women in cinema are often portrayed as the weaker sex when that’s not the case. I enjoy playing characters where the woman reclaims her own power, be it physical, emotional or mental. All the women I’ve seen in my real life are strong and we need to show that.

 Your fashion gets a lot of attention. What are your style inspirations?

Indian street style. You can drive across somewhere like Tamil Nadu, which has a strong heritage of hand-woven textiles and see an elderly lady wearing the loveliest colour combination in a sari, draped very casually, while working. She will have traditional jewellery, all put on so casually. It shows the beauty in our traditions. It’s similar in all parts of India with their own specific hand-crafted styles.

Sadly, our handicrafts are evaporating because we are not taking care of our artisans. We need to preserve our Indian heritage, and that really inspires me.

Which style icons do you admire?

I admire those who have their own sense of style, instead of people who blindly following trends. I think Maharani Gayatri Devi is one of the most stylish women we’ve ever had. I really connect to Rekhaji because I’m a south Indian as well.

What do you enjoy watching as an audience member?

I really enjoy watching dramas. I love romcoms, the ‘who done it’, slice of life, road trip films, coming of age, and everything. I’ve grown up in such a cosmopolitan culture. While growing up, I watched films in so many diverse languages. Spirited Away was one of my favourite animated films. In India, you grow up with such variety and diversity. I love all of them.

How much does your incredible fan base mean to you?

At the end of the day, we all want our work to be loved and for people to love us. If you have fans and they express that love, it means that somewhere what you’re doing is connecting with people. For me, that is the most important thing. It means so much to me when that happens. I am, and will always be, grateful for any and every kind of love being showered on me.

Tell us something about you that not many people know?

Not many people know that I love wildlife photography. Nothing makes me feel calmer and more peaceful than being in the forest, in an environment that’s so primal, because when you live in big towns, you lack that touch with nature. So, I take a deep dive into nature whenever I can. Taking pictures of wildlife has become a very passionate hobby.

And another random quirk that people don’t know about me is that I’m a big germophobe.

What is the best advice you ever got?

I would not really call it advice but leading by example. It’s something I picked up from my father (acclaimed cinematographer KU Mohanan) and he’s not very conscious about it. I’ve seen people shower me with so much love because he’s kind to everybody and genuinely nice without any ulterior motives. So, being kind, empathetic and nice no matter what your field of work or stage in your life, is important. The highs, lows, success and failures will come and go, but what matters is human connections. Life is nothing without genuine connections, friendships, and relationships. That’s what people remember you for. So just be nice, kind, sensitive and understanding. It may sound simple, but it is the most important thing.

 Why do you love cinema?

I love cinema because I’ve always loved escaping into different worlds, from a young age. I feel like just being in one reality is boring. I spent a large part of my childhood being an avid reader, completely immersed in so many different books, including the entire Harry Potter series. I always loved being in a world that was so entirely different from mine. Cinema enables you to go to new places, meet people and bring a character’s truth to life. This is possibly the most immersive form of exploration.