Suzhal 2 actor Manjima Mohan Interview: 'Screen time does not matter to me'

For actor Manjima Mohan, her choices have not been the way one would assume it to be for an artiste coming from a film background would be. After starting as a child artiste, and wanting to not be in front of the camera, Manjima made a decision to come back to acting with Oru Vadakkan Selfie. In a similar fashion, Manjima, who made her OTT debut with Suzhal The Vortex season 2, may not have graced all the episodes, but made quite an impact with her extended role that comes in the flashback.

Actor Manjima Mohan Interview: Pushkar and Gayatri were clear I will not come in every episode of Suzhal 2

Speaking about starting out as a child artiste, Manjima says, “As a child artiste, I have vague memories about work. All I remember is to know your lines, walk into the sets, and act. Since you are a child, the stress is less and you don’t think much about your co-stars. But when you grow up and is a leading actor, you need to know how you look, your character, understand co-stars, and know some technicalities.”

Despite a limited screen time for her character Nagamma in Suzhal 2, Manjima says she had always wanted to work with Pushkar and Gayatri, the showrunners of Suzhal web series. “I really look up to them. So, when they reached out, there was no second thinking. They were clear that I will not come in every episode, but have some weightage to the story. That gave me confidence, and after hearing the story, I wanted to try it out. I was not sure, but Pushkar sir and Gayatri mam were confident. I, too, did not think too much into it. It was simple.”

Also read: Suzhal S2 OTT release: Here are 5 reasons why you should binge watch Pushkar and Gayatri’s crime drama series 

That being said, Manjima was also scared to bring Nagamma onscreen, a character which belongs to the fishing community. “I have to have the body language, the slang because Tamil is not my mother tongue. They were going for sync sound, so that freaked me more. I am always scared before I do any characters, but this was more of butterflies in the stomach,” she adds.

‘I have done films where people easily can forget me’

With Suzhal being one of the first long format storytelling in the south, Manjima answers when we ask her why south stars are little more hesitant to take up OTT projects than their north counterparts, “It’s not about being hesitant. I feel we get the roles we are looking for. I had a similar conversation with Aishwarya Rajesh, when we were talking about doing more OTT projects. But the common thing I keep hearing is we are not being offered good roles.” The actor also mentions the likes of actors Madhavan, Nimisha Sajayan, Jyotika, who have taken up doing good roles on OTT projects. “My husband (actor Gautham Karthik) also keeps talking about how he wants to be part of OTT shows, and he even recently signed one for Netflix. But he had to wait for some years to get a meaty role. I think it is a matter of roles and characters offered.”

Also read: Suzhal The Vortex S2 out on OTT: Kathir and Aishwarya Rajesh’s latest crime series drops on streaming platform 

For Manjima, screen time doesn’t matter, and that is something she has kept in mind from the beginning. “It doesn’t matter if I am from beginning to end. It is how impactful the role is. For example, Nagamma comes for about 40 minutes, but it is what she does to the whole story. People should remember that role. You can have full-fledged roles and not be remembered. I have done films where people easily can forget me. But not everything is on our hands either.”

Acknowledging that there has been some change on the positive note for roles for women written on screen, Manjima points out that there is a long way to go. “10 years back, I don’t think it was even what we see now. I would credit the audience, because they have grown accepting. I know for a fact that there is a long way to go. Actors like Nayanthara, Trisha, Jyotika, and Samantha have been in the industry for long and now they are doing all their career-best. Trisha and Aishwarya Rai in Ponniyin Selvan have been getting good roles now. I am sure there are some directors who are bringing that change.”

Manjima, who is still understanding the kind of reception her role is getting in Suzhal, is quick to let us know that she is not the kind of person who would sit on her work post its release. “I get detached from my roles very quickly. I try to understand what’s right and wrong on the release date, and probably 1-2 days think about it, but later I move on quickly. It’s the case with both a hit and a flop,” she adds.

Concluding the conversation, Manjima says that she is giving some time to know how Suzhal is doing and Nagamma is resonating with the audience. “I am not a person who would run from set to set. I wait for a release, and see the reception. I always say that audience’s trust is very important and you need to earn it through good roles. I think quality work is more important than quantity.”