Amala Paul is back and bringing the energy for the promotions of her most recent movie, Level Cross. The actress, who is well-known for her multilingual films, received praise for her recent performance in Prithviraj Sukumaran's survival drama Aadujeevitham.

In an interview with OTTplay, Amala explained why she decided to take a hiatus from acting and how the 2022 Malayalam movie, Teacher, helped her recover.

Is there a specific reason why you decided to stop opting films, especially Malayalam ones after 2017?

The audience's reaction to every Malayalam film I did after Oru Indian Pranayakatha was overwhelmingly lukewarm. And for me, that was an eye-opener. I began to consider the Malayalam projects I chose very seriously. I focused on more Tamil films, particularly women-centric ones. I centred all of my attention on the challenge of being a part of a movie like Aadai. By then, I was also involved in production. I did not intend on taking a break, but I was preoccupied with giving the films I committed to my all.

It was also a difficult year for you at that point in time. Did that ever have an impact on your work?

Yes, I experienced a period of depression and severe anxiety in 2020 after losing my father. But I started thinking about it and gave my personal life and mental health more priority. In addition, I was working on these challenging projects that required a lot of grey areas and emotions when I look back.

I resided in Mumbai and worked on the Hindi web series, Ranjish Hi Sahi, from September 2019 to March 2020. I put a lot of effort into this project. I went too far in my portrayal of a character with schizophrenia, and it affected me personally. I was informed by my therapist that I had borderline personality disorder symptoms. It was not limited to this project, but it seems like it was concealed somewhere and made its appearance at some point during that period.

When I worked on a project, I realised that these roles had a significant impact on me because, in addition to the 25–30 days of shooting, there is a pre-production phase where you prepare for the role. I know I am an actor, but that's not how my brain functions, so I snapped. To get away from all those thoughts, I could have signed up for a lot of projects, but that would have been a bad course of action.

Could all of these have affected the films you decided to work on after that?

After that, I was willing to commit to any light-hearted subject, but by then, I had been deemed suitable for thriller roles. Before I stopped listening to many of them, people began to associate me with this genre and gave me multiple opportunities in it. I am still learning about movies. Neither have I attended a film school nor had a mentor. I still have no idea how to properly separate characters from real life.

However, following a hiatus, you starred in the Malayalam movie Teacher. Playing that character must have been quite stressful, right?

After a brief break from the Malayalam film industry, I acted in Teacher in 2022. For me, the movie ended up being a period to release all of my pent-up emotions, and it was very therapeutic for me. Towards the end of the shoot, I had somewhat recovered.

Which are your upcoming projects?

The movie, Level Cross, will soon be released in theatres. This project, which was also filmed in the Sahara Desert, was thrilling and demanding. I found the Asif Ali-starrer intriguing because it is not your usual thriller and has a few oddball elements. Working on it was kind of enjoyable.

In addition, I have a major role in a romantic comedy with Dushara Vijayan and Kalidas Jayaram. Dwija is another movie; it is a period drama. I portray a character in a Tamil movie about a goddess that ranges in age from 18 to 40. Since the 40-year-old part will be shot first, I hope it will also serve as motivation to lose weight to film the rest.

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