Why Abhinaya is special
The speech and hearing-impaired actor has not let her disability get in the way of success
Her smile and the twinkle in her eyes make up for her inability to express herself through speech. Not letting her disability mar her starry dreams, Abhinaya entered tinsel world with director Samudrakani’s ‘Nadodigal’, a Tamil film that earned her several awards, including the ‘Filmfare Award for Best Debut Actor’.
From working on the Kannada remake of ‘Nadodigal’ with Puneeth Raaj Kumar and essaying a significant character in Sasi Kumar’s Tamil film, ‘Easan,’ Abhinaya’s career graph soared as she shared screen space with Tamil star Surya in Murugadoss’ ‘7am Arivu’.
In the recently released Telegu film, ‘Dhamarukam’, Abhinaya played sister to Telugu actor Nagarjuna. Lined up is her debut in Malayalam, ‘The Reporter’, where she is the protagonist, a rape victim, in a story that has been borrowed from life. Also awaiting release is her second Malayalam film, ‘Isaac Newton, Son of Phillipose’, where she is paired opposite veteran actor Lal.
Her Telugu film ‘Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu’, a Mahesh Babu starrer, is slated for release in January. Currently, she is working in a Tamil film, ‘Melathalam’, directed by Anbu Stalin and is paired opposite Nischala Krishna.
This journey, as is the case of all those who refuse to be trapped in the straitjacket of a conventional life, was clearly not an easy walk. Ask Hemalatha, her mother, who accompanies her daughter to shoots.
Youngest of three siblings, Abhinaya did not react to sounds soon after birth. Growing up in Hyderabad, she attended a special school there.
“On her way to school, she used to stare at roadside hoardings of beautiful models and wished to be there someday,” Hemalatha reminisced.
Aiswarya Rai Bachchan is her favourite. Fuelling this desire was her visit to film sets in Hyderabad, where her father, M.D. Gyananand, (an actor in Tamil and Telegu films) worked.
“She would imitate the actors after every take,” laughed Hemalatha.
When she was 13, Abhinaya underwent a cochlear implant by Dr Mohan Kameswaran in Chennai which enabled her to hear with the help of hearing aids.
“It was a difficult surgery,” recalled Hemalatha.
“More than that, the audio-visual training that followed drove Abhinaya to frustration. She found the sudden intrusion of sound painful. With time, she learnt to overcome that.”
She was 17 when she faced the camera for ‘Nadodigal’. Hemalatha helps her daughter with the lines. And directors indicate to Abhinaya with a wave of a handkerchief when it is time for ‘Lights, Action, Camera’.
Praising assistant director Binoy, who helped Abhinaya on the sets of her Malayalam films, Hemalatha said, “Binoy made Abhinaya’s work easy. He was more of a speech therapist.”
One thing Abhinaya’s directors are unanimous about is her ability to learn fast. Clearly, there is no stopping this young and promising actor.
