NEEK team interview: 'Dhanush sir has taught us subtle acting and its importance'

Extravagant (Venkatesh Menon). Kinder and empathetic (Ramya Ranganathan). Sophisticated (Anikha Surendran). Will power (Pavish). These are the words that the young cast of the upcoming film Nilavuku Enmel Ennadi Kobam (NEEK) uses to describe their characters from the film, which is the third directorial coming from actor Dhanush. Meanwhile, Rabiya Khatoon says, “I cannot give away a particular characteristic of who she is, and that would be a spoiler. But all I can say is, I would not take that feature of hers back home,” tipping us off with a hint of what her role might be.

NEEK actors Anikha Surendran, Pavish, Rabiya Khatoon, Ramya Ranganathan and Venkatesh Menon Interview

Among the cast, except for Anikha, who started off as a child artiste, all of them faced the camera for the first time with NEEK. While Pavish and Venkatesh have worked as assistant directors earlier, the latter says, “I think with time you loosen up. Eventually, when we started, it was a bit difficult but as days passed, it felt more easier.” Pavish, who comes from a family of actors and filmmakers and had assisted Dhanush for four years, says there was no camera shyness for him. “I was not shy in front of the camera, but I was nervous about the person sitting behind the camera. Dhanush sir eventually made me feel comfortable and warm.”

Meanwhile, Ramya, who comes from a dancing background, has a different story to tell, “I am used to getting on stage and dance. That probably helped me a little bit. But having said that, it was still difficult. Like Venky said, it was over a period of time, I developed courage and confidence, although I think I still have some fear in me still.”

Calling acting a tough process, Rabiya feels, “Everyone thinks it’s easy and even I thought the same. I used to criticise, but when you are playing certain characters and you are not doing a good job, there is a lot running in your mind, your director would want it a certain way, and you would understand your role in a different way. When you come to a common ground, that’s when it starts getting easy. You should also feel comfortable with camera; I think you get better. And to top it off, all of us wanted to do a good job because we were acting in front of Dhanush sir.”

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However, it is very different for Anikha for whom facing the camera is not the first time. But having said that, NEEK marks her debut in Tamil as a lead actor. The actor says it is indeed special to make the lead debut with a Dhanush film. “It’s not like I wanted to take a break, but I was looking for good characters, a good team and NEEK came at the right time,” she adds.

‘Dhanush sir was very patient director’

For the young cast of NEEK, having an actor like Dhanush also captain the ship and play the director became beneficial for the actors. “Dhanush sir was very patient and he understands what an actor goes through in their first film. There were scenes in which we took our own sweet time, and him being an actor is why he gave us the space,” says Pavish.

Ramya also chips in saying how he understood the difficulties of being an actor. “For a debutant, we don’t know how much is enough for the first few scenes you shoot. It was very important for him to enact and show it to us, and we were able to capture it and replicate it. If we do 10% of what he did, then it means we have done justice.”

Anikha and Rabiya also mention how Dhanush acting out and showing them helped during NEEK shoots, and even ask once more, to capture half of what Dhanush does. “There have been times when I see him acting, and I forget to observe and simply enjoy him acting unconsciously. Later, I began taking videos so that I can use that material to do my homework,” says Pavish.

Also read: Nithya Menen on Idly Kadai: 'This story will be very different, and very unlike Shobana and Thiru'

The cast of NEEK is also a fresh set of talents who will be entering the industry, just in time when Tamil cinema has been facing a vacancy in a new generation of artists. “It is good that new talents are coming and it feels lucky that we are coming currently. It is amazing to see many people debut this year, that will definitely help us and the industry.”

Wapping up the conversation, if there is one takeaway for each of them, Venkatesh starts off by saying he is looking for scripts that are relatable. “Something like Premalu, if given an opportunity, I would love to be part of that film.” Meanwhile, Ramya wants to do roles that have prominence and weightage in a film. Meanwhile, Rabiya is keeping her mind open for good stories and exploration. Anikha says she is not particular about doing only female leads but watches out to be part of projects, and varied scripts.

And finally, Pavish says, “Dhanush sir uses this word called subtle. I understood that subtle acting can relate to a lot of people. Like Thiruchitrambalam, VIP and Yaaradi Nee Mohini. After sir said this, I have been noticing people where we don’t really act so big even if we are surprised. People are subtle these days and he has taught us that.”

NEEK is all set to hit big screens on February 21.

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