Malishka Mendonsa: For a moment, I felt naked in front of the camera without makeup

Radio jockey turned actress Malishka Mendonsa is a prominent name in the media business as an award-winning radio jockey who lives under the media glare all the time. Her latest short film Parde Mein Rehne Do, saw her in a less glamorous avatar as the protagonist Kuhu. She opened up about her experience of facing the camera without makeup. 

Malishka told OTTplay, "I started my creative journey with acting on stage because I have done theatre extensively before I joined the radio. Of course, I became a prominent name because of my career in radio but I looked at the character of Kuhu as an opportunity for exploring my acting chops. Even after not wearing any makeup initially, Heena D' Souza, our director, was telling me my skin is too clean! When it comes to facing the camera without makeup, I won't lie, I felt like naked for 5 seconds but then quickly got into the frame of Kuhu."

"I think vanity is all good off-screen but on-screen it should not be me but the look of the character that should be visible and remembered. In fact, I had to apply some makeup because my character Kuhu has a birthmark on her face and I have a clean face. I can go to any extent to look for the part I am playing as an actor," shared the artist.

Living at a time of social media where everything is captured, posted and validated by netizens, when asked about how she handles the pressure of being a celebrity and topping her vanity game, the artist said, " Yes, it is a time where even for a radio artist, we are wearing makeup because it is not a faceless medium anymore. When I started my career in radio, that was not the scene, but now, we are making audio and video both for all our celebrity interviews. So there, surely a certain consciousness of our looks and body image came into play. I am constantly embracing myself with all my perfection and imperfection. That's the way to go I believe..."

The film tells the tale of the daily life struggles of a 32 years old divorced woman who is not only dealing with emotional problems in her personal life but also the social pressure on her body image.

The film Parde Mein Rehne Do, is streaming on Amazon miniTV.