Nivetha Thomas on ‘Darbar’ and working with Rajinikanth
Actress says she bonded well with the South Indian superstar
From winning the Kerala State Award on her debut as a child artist in ‘Veruthe Oru Bharya’ to making a mark in Tamil and Telugu cinema, Nivetha Thomas has come a long way.
Thomas, who was last seen in ‘Papanasam’ as Kamal Hassan’s daughter, now plays Rajnikanth’s daughter in Tamil thriller ‘Darbar’.
“It does feel like a dream right now,” Thomas told Gulf News tabloid!. While she wasn’t authorised to reveal much about her role ahead of the film’s release, she confirms that she plays the daughter to Rajinikanth’s character Adithya Arunachalam in this AR Murugadoss-directed film.
“She loves her father more than herself and puts her father first and will not let go of him for anything else,” she said.
Thomas met Rajinikanth for the first time during the first-look posters.
“I saw him in his entire look. There was an instant connect with Rajini Sir. We bonded well during the course of the film,” added Thomas.
“Initially we shot the lighter portions with Yogi Babu and Rajini sir. It was very comfortable working with him. I could put across opinions on a scene. The way the scenes developed was easy and the first shot was okayed at first take. Sir was vocal about his appreciation,” said the fan who counts ‘Thalapathi’ (Rajinikanth’s 1991 film) as her favourite.
Thomas also shares screen space with award-winning South Indian actress Nayanthara, who is paired opposite Rajinikanth in ‘Darbar’. Bollywood’s Suniel Shetty has signed on as the antagonist.
“Nayanthara is definitely an inspiration to many and is paving the way for young and old artists, both male and female, with the choices of her films,” Thomas said.
She found Shetty to be one of the nicest people to work with, calling him “a true gentleman who is vocal with his compliments. It was lovely working with both of them.”
Thomas said her experience working with director Murugadoss and his efficient team of assistant directors was memorable.
“Murgadoss sir is one director who shoots with stars, yet finds space to talk about a social cause. He explains the scene and leaves it to you to explore within the parameters available. In a lot of sequences you will find how amazing a writer he is,” Thomas revealed.
Thomas, who made her debut in Malayalam cinema, admits she misses working in the industry and is waiting for the right kind of scripts.
She was eight when she first faced the camera for the small screen. Calling her journey an organic one, she said: “I am unable to think of a pattern the way my career shaped up.”
“‘Veruthe Oru Bharya’ was a meaty role with different shades and the best opportunity with a first film. Working though different mediums taught me how to emote and understand the pitch of a character. The films that followed shaped me as an actor, making me more thoughtful of the scripts and got me involved in other aspects of film making,” she added.
While acting was not a choice that she made but something that happened, she found in her career the opportunity to be so many people.
“From playing a good person to a psychopath, it’s a blessing to be able to tap on many emotions. Every film teaches you about a part of yourself. I want to be different kind of people. Acting is what I love about acting,” said Thomas, who is happy that Telugu cinema has offered her interesting roles.
She looks forward to doing more Tamil films and irrespective of language to explore various roles.
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‘Darbar’ is out in the UAE on January 9.