“What was considered a weakness for me became my strength,” said Shailashree Mulki, debutant actress of the hit Kannada film, Onde Motteya Kathe.
Directed by Raj Shetty, the entertainer is a simple tale of Janardhanan, a young balding man in search of his soul mate. Mulki plays Sarala, who is paired opposite Janardhan. The actress recalls attending the auditions for this role two years ago.
“I was always keen on acting, having been up on stage since school days. And when a friend mentioned about the auditions, I decided to give it a try. I was sceptical though as I was on the plump side then,” she said.
She admits she was ecstatic when she was selected on the basis of the very trait she feared about.
“Sarala is a girl-next-door and not bothered about her looks,” explained Mulki, who worked as a voice coach in a multinational company.
In the film, when Sarala first meets Janardhanan, she isn’t taken by his curt behaviour. But after meeting his family, she gradually begins to understand him and falls in love.
“He is looking for a good-looking girl, despite being bald himself. In our society, we believe in showing off our better halves for the appreciation of others. Janardhan is no different. Despite being an introvert, he wants a beautiful woman, maybe to camouflage his inferiority,” said Mulki.
Portraying Sarala was no easy task for Mulki. There is a scene where she is rejected by her boyfriend, who tells her that they look like brother and sister due to her weight. Later, Janardhan also rejects her.
“As a child, I was laughed at for being plump and it continued in high school. I soon grew out of it,” revealed Mulki, adding that her own experience helped her empathise with Sarala’s feelings.
Mulki has been appreciated for her subtle performance. Her father, who has watched Onde Motteya Kathe 18 times comes home after every show with interesting comments from the viewers.
After the premiere show of Onde Motteya Kathe in Bengaluru, two young women walked up to her and told her that Sarala represented them.
“‘You are our inspiration,’ they said, ” remembered Mulki.
She found in Shetty a wonderful director and a supportive co-actor. “He used to give me cues to deliver my lines and I got comfortable with him,” adds the trained classical dancer.
Onde Motteya Kathe is now showing in the UAE.
