Exclusive! Ramya Pandian: Working with bigwigs like Mammootty and Lijo Jose Pellissery was sheer joy

Ramya Pandian, who was last seen in Raame Aandalum Raavane Aandalum, is elated to have made her debut in Malayalam film industry. The shooting of her film, Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, which has Mammootty playing the lead, was wrapped up a few days ago. 

Acclaimed filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery has wielded the megaphone for the project which has cinematography by Theni Eeswar. For Ramya, the project was special because of another reason, too; it marked the first collaboration of Mammootty and Lijo. The actor-filmmaker duo has jointly produced the project, the shooting of which happened at Palani.       

"I was quite excited to make inroads into the Malayalam movie industry," begins Ramya, adding, "More than the fact that it was my first film in Mollywood, the joy of working with bigwigs made me so excited. I feel I'm blessed and am grateful for the opportunity." Though the shooting has been wrapped up, the young actress says she is not a liberty to reveal much about her character. 

She says, "I can't open up about my role in the movie. All I can say is that I play a village girl in it. It's a notable character and it stays till the end of the film."

Ramya says she couldn't contain her excitement when she got to know that she was being part of a project which has Lijo at the helm. "He is an acclaimed and influential filmmaker whose works I have admired. Initially, it was a surreal feeling that I was acting in a movie which has a director whose work was send as India's official entry for the Oscars. It took a couple of days for me to figure out what the requirements of my character are."

She adds that Lijo used to act scenes on the set apart from asking her to improvise her portions. Ramya also recollects that the director insisted her to come up with different variations for some of the expressions and reactions in her scenes. 

"He approaches scenes in a realistic, lively and raw manner. The intriguing aspects in his films can be discovered in this movie as well. I was happy to get appreciation from him once. I consider that as a huge blessing; I was so happy. He is someone who doesn't appreciate often," Ramya smiles, "He's quite an enthusiastic person on the set. His focus will always be on the subsequent shots and sequences to be filmed."  

All praise for Mammootty's grounded behaviour, Ramya says that she had an unforgettable time working with the megastar of Mollywood. 

"I greeted him on the first day of shooting, though I couldn't initiate a conversation with him. I didn't know how he would respond. But to my surprise, he came up to me and made me feel comfortable. Whenever I used to gauge my performance by looking at the monitor from a distance away, he would encourage me to come closer. It was interesting to see him cracking jokes on the set. I had a great time working with a legend like him who comes across as a humble person," she signs off.