PremiumExclusive! Pranitha Subhash: I was surprised that the team of Thankamani offered me an intense cop role
In her first Malayalam movie, Thankamani, which releases in theatres on March 7, Pranitha plays an IPS officer, a first for her
Last Updated: 08.39 PM, Feb 29, 2024
As a new mother, Pranitha Subhash is clear about her priorities; she wants to enjoy this phase and spend time with family, but she’s also not ready to give up on her passion – showbiz. The acting gigs will continue, as also her judging duties on the Telugu reality show Dhee. She’s got a release coming up in Malayalam this week, Thankamani, which marks her debut in the industry and has her in a never-before-seen avatar. Pranitha is an IPS officer in the film led by Malayalam star Dileep, a role that even she was surprised that it was offered to her.
“If you’ve followed my film career, you’ll know that I have mostly done the cute, bubbly, girl-next-door kind of roles, so I was not sure what the team of Thankamani saw in me that they thought I could pull off such an intense role, especially since I am not even from Kerala. The role is that of an IPS officer from north India who is posted in Kerala and the team was quite convinced that I was right for the character and even showed me references of an IPS officer from Kerala who they based the role on,” says Pranitha.
Despite the north Indian connect, though, her character, Arpitha Nath IPS, speaks fluent Malayalam. “Someone else dubbed for me, so the pronunciations and accent will be right, but while doing the scenes I had to be as fluent as possible. They did tell me that it would be okay to slip in a word of English and Hindi every now and then, but for the most part, my lines were in Malayalam,” she adds.
The film, meanwhile, is inspired by the true story of the Thankamani case of the 80s, when the police beat up and opened fire in a dispute over a bus service. The police force is alleged to have unleashed unspeakable atrocities on the people of the Thankamani village, which had led to the resignation of the then chief minister, K Karunakaran.
“The film is set in two timelines, with one outlining the police atrocities of the 80s, on both men and women, and focuses on one man, whose story is based on real incidents but for purposes of cinema is a fictitious character, who loses his family in this mayhem. What happens to him and his family is the backdrop of the film and my character, Arpitha uncovers that many things happening in her jurisdiction are connected to the Thankamani case,” Pranitha explains further.
Later this year, Pranitha will also be seen in the Kannada film Ramana Avatara, in which she is paired with Rishi. “It’s been ready for a while, but I have no idea when the team is finally planning to bring it to audiences,” she signs off.