My thought process is in Malayalam. So, every time I have to work outside Malayalam, the process is a little stressful. I have to translate my Malayalam thoughts into English and back to Tamil.
Apart from English, I speak my mother tongue Malayalam, as well as Tamil, Telugu, and a bit of Kannada and French.
I want to do Hindi films, but a proper one and a good production. I'm even open to multi-starrers because those work better in Bollywood. But it should be with only Bollywood technicians, not the South Indian team. There's no point to my going to Bollywood if I work with the same artistes and technicians.
My mother and grandmother are very supportive of me, and they always have a say in things. They also really help with any pronunciation problems I have with Tamil and Malayalam, and can always identify if there is a mistake and correct it.
Most of the actresses I have worked with have started their career in South and then shifted to Bollywood.
In South, the actresses are expected to be fuller, unlike Bollywood. The sensibilities are totally different.
I have a huge connect with South. My father can speak fluent Tamil. He studied in Bengaluru. My brother studied in Kodaikanal. I am familiar with the South.
Having done movies in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi, I have been accepted both in North and down South. I don't believe in divisions. I like to believe that I am working in the Indian film industry.
I am a south Indian, so I speak Tamil.
After all my hard work, I ventured into Bollywood with 'Traffic,' which is a remake of a Malayalam movie.
Many Hindi films that are Tamil remakes rake in huge moolah in Bollywood.
When I perform in north India, I have a set of songs, and when I am in the south, I tend to prepare a playlist of Tamil songs along with Bollywood numbers. As a performer, I feel the pulse of the people!
It's funny, though, with films, because you can incorporate a variety of elements, and sometimes that can work for you and sometimes I think it can work against you.
Though I read and speak Malayalam, Malayalis won't accept outsiders speaking their language.
The pacing in Tamil and Telugu is very different from Malayalam cinema.
I would love to explore my options in Tamil as well as Malayalam.