Surabhi Lakshmi won the National Award for Best Actress in 2016. But for the initial frenzy, pretty much nothing changed for Surabhi. The actress was not swarmed with lucrative offers and she continued to play the roles that came her way. The Malayalam actress is now back in the spotlight after appearing in Ajayante Randam Moshanam (ARM), which starred Tovino Thomas in triple roles. The movie, among the Onam releases this year, is enjoying a successful run at the box office. Despite the limited screen time in ARM, Surabhi has left a mark with her performance and is getting appreciation for standing out in a movie that had two other lead actresses Aishwarya Rajesh and Krithi Shetty.

In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Surabhi Lakshmi spoke about being paired opposite the dashing Tovino Thomas in ARM, her life after the National Award win, and her upcoming projects.

Surabhi Lakshmi's interview excerpts

You played the role of Manikyam in ARM, the wife of Maniyan. How were you picked for the role?

I actually know the director Jithin Laal, from the time when he was an assistant director in Ennu Ninte Moideen, way back in 2015. Even then, I felt he had it in him to make it big. So I told him then that when you make a film, do cast me. Along with the director, writer Sujith Nambiar wanted to cast me in the role. Also, singer Harishankar had recommended my name for the role.

You have been paired opposite Tovino Thomas, the popular Mollywood star. How excited were you when you heard about this?

I have never been paired opposite any star before, anyone who has scored a hit at the box office. So when the makers told me about my role, I wasn’t very confident and pointed out that Tovino is this young, handsome star in Malayalam and popular South actresses such as Trisha will be starring along with him next. So I jokingly asked Jithin Laal, ‘Should I turn glamorous for the role?’ But the director and writer were very confident and they said they were looking for a different pairing, not the one that people would expect. They told me, ‘You are being roped in for acting. Not for glamour. We are bringing in people from Tamil and Telugu for that!’

I am one of the heroines of the movie. It is Ajayan’s story and his love interest Lakshmi (played by Krithi Shetty) would be the main heroine.

But at the end of the day for me, it is the role that matters. It is about how well I can do justice to my role and not the person who is opposite to me - Be it Tovino, Kamal Haasan sir, or even Rajinikanth sir.

How has been the response to Tovino-Surabhi pairing?

People are telling me that this is a beautiful pair and am really happy about it.

Earlier, even some of my friends found it amusing that I had been paired opposite Tovino, probably because they had no idea about who Manikyam or Maniyan was. Now, the same people are calling me, appreciating my performance in the movie.

How did you interpret your character of Manikyam and Maniyan, played by Tovino?

Manikyam literally means precious stone, and for Maniyan she is very precious. He steals the Chyothivilaku (the sacred lamp) for her, and when he finds the real Chyothivilaku, he says that the villagers can continue to bow before the fake one and you get to keep the real one.

If you look at the movie, I only have four or five sequences in total. So if you have called to talk about my role, I believe I have done justice to my character. And that’s also because of how Tovino has beautifully portrayed the role of Maniyan. Some stars come with ‘heroism’. But at the set, I did not see Tovino Thomas, it was only Maniyan.

In a crucial scene when Maniyan gets into trouble, his wife and kid are also watching in fear. But during the shoot, Tovino had already left by then because he had to catch a flight. And I just had to imagine how Tovino had acted in that scene and react accordingly. And it is one of the scenes getting lauded now. I believe it worked because Manikyam knows exactly how Maniyan would have reacted in that sequence. It also shows the depth of the writing.

How did you prepare for the role?

I attended one workshop, conducted by professor Vinod Kumar from my alma mater Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, on how to channel your thoughts. This was not part of preparing for this film, but it helped me in embracing the character. Also, theatre artist Jyothish MG has been a teacher for me. So whenever I face any hurdle in any character, I reach out to them.

Additionally, all the discussions I had with the director, writer, and Tovino about the characters and their stories, and the period it was set in, helped me get a grasp of the character. My preparations were very different from that of Tovino. He got a trainer and had to train for Kalari and all. I didn’t have that since I have no such scenes but people who are trained in Kalari would be very focussed and I try to bring that in the body language for Manikyam.

Before ARM, you were seen in the anthology web series Manorathangal. You played the role of an elderly mother in Priyadarshan’s ‘Olavum Theeravum’, which starred Mohanlal in the lead role. It is a vastly different character from Maniykam. Your experience?

That is the challenge an artist looks out for. This was a huge opportunity. Working alongside Priyadarshan sir and Mohanlal sir, in Santhosh Sivan’s frames and that too on MT Vasudevan sir’s script. I was also part of Swargam Thurakkuna Samayam, directed by Jayaraj. I was the only actress to be a part of two segments in the series.

But women often get relegated to elderly roles very early on in their careers. How do you tackle that?

I was not worried about the age of my character when Priyadarshan sir offered me the role in Manorathangal. And it was a strong woman character. Barring a few roles such as Manikyam, I have mostly played characters that are older than me. We need to be flexible as an artist. I don’t mind doing mother roles, but it needs to be an important character. Otherwise, I tell the makers that I still have a lot of time to do mother roles.

You won the National Award for Minnaminungu in 2016. How did this national acclaim impact your life?

There was no change in my life. When I won the award, my friend Muhammad Musthafa, who directed Kappela, called me and said, ‘Don’t imagine that you are going to get offers as lead actress in big-budget movies right away. You have been a serial actress and people will only see you like that. And you need to continue doing your job before you get the big offers.” I still hold on to his words and continue to do my job with all sincerity.

What are your upcoming projects?

Among my upcoming releases is Aashiq Abu's Rifle Club, which stars Anurag Kashyap, Vani Viswanath, Darshana Rajendran, Dileesh Pothan, Hanumankind, and Vijayaraghavan, among others. I play this interesting character of Susan. It is also Vani Viswanath’s comeback film. We became good friends and we had a blast shooting this film.

Another film is Get-Set Baby, starring Unni Mukundan and Nikhila Vimal. I got the role after another artist had to opt out because of a date clash. This is one of the instances when you have no time to prepare, and just show up on the day of the shoot and start acting.

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