Tamil actress Saranya Ponvannan stands tall among her peers.
In addition to raising a family, she has chosen roles wisely and delivered them with aplomb. In addition to several Filmfare and Tamil Nadu state awards, Ponvannan received the National award for her performance in Thenmerku Paruvakatru.
“Cinema has given me a great position, the mother image. So I am careful about the roles I choose,” said the actress, who played Dhanush’s mother in Vellai Illatha Pattathari.
What is keeping her most happy at the moment is her new role, one close to her heart: As teacher at her school, DSOFT (Design School of Fashion Technology). Ponvannan was beaming last weekend while distributing certificates to her first batch of students at the graduation ceremony held in Chennai.
Not many know that making clothes is her first love and she has always made garments for herself and her two daughters.
Her love affair with the sewing machine goes back to her childhood days when her mother painstakingly made her dresses.
“I would wear a new one every Sunday for church,” reminisced Ponvannan.
“While I loved the new attire and the compliments they attracted, I never took a fancy for the sewing machine. My mother’s complaint was that I did not even bother to mend a torn garment.”
After her mother’s death, the machine sat as a stark reminder.
“I regretted not learning the craft from her. This nagging thought drove me to join the Kothari Academy for Women for a diploma course in Fashion Design and Tailoring.”
Ponvannan took to tailoring like a fish to water. She even carried her machine to film shoots.
“It’s a real high when you flaunt a dress that you have stitched,” she laughed, remembering days when she and her little niece wore their new outfits on their evening walks.
Last July, DSOFT was set up when a couple of friends insisted on learning the skill from her. The five-month course offered is a diploma in design and tailoring.
Ponvannan’s dream is to make DSOFT a one-stop institution.
“I am keen on teaching embroidery, ari work, crochet, patchwork, applique and more,” added the actress, who once aspired to become a doctor. She even procured a seat on merit but her father, A B Raj, the Malayalam director, refused to send her far away from home.
“Call it kismet,” said Ponvanan with a smile, “when a family friend, who was a photographer, asked me to pose for a magazine.”
Her pictures found their way into director Mani Ratnam’s hands and she made an impressive debut in Nayagan, opposite Kamal Haasan, aged 18.
One unfulfilled wish remains, though.
“I would love to be paired opposite Rajnikanth and Mohan Lal some day,” said this mother of two teenagers.
Are directors listening?
