Becoming Aarathi: Malavika Mohanan on Pa. Ranjith’s ‘Thangalaan’ and why it was the most physically-intense challenge of her career

Malavika Mohanan Interview on Thangalaan: The actor speaks about the monumental effort it took to become Aarathi in Pa Ranjith’s ‘Thangalaan,’ empowering women with agency, and why social media is a vital tool for actors in the modern age

You can sense an infectious excitement cloaking the nervousness in Malavika Mohanan, just days ahead of the release of her film Thangalaan. Reading, she says, helps keep her peace. “We are so exposed to screens these days and after a long day on my phone, I feel my brain getting numb. So, reading helps reset,” she says, adding it also helps her with her acting. “Because acting is imagining. I am currently reading The Way of the World by Nicolas Bouvier.”

Whenever she finds a break, she visits the stretch between Masinagudi and Wayanad. “This intersection of the three states has some of the most beautiful natural landscapes. In central India, I favour Tadoba and Kanha for tiger sightings,” says Malavika.

The thought of Wayanad, and how the haven is still reeling from the devastating landslide, weighs heavily on Malavika. “The only land I own is in Wayanad. I have close friends there and I have worked very closely with the tribal community in Wayanad. I was devastated to hear about the landslide, and have been organising charity donations to help out.”

In Thangalaan, a period drama set in the Kolar Gold Fields, Malavika plays a fierce, magical entity named Aarathi. It’s a character based on a popular myth from the region, an aspect that infuses magical realism into this Pa. Ranjith directorial. Malavika always wanted to play a regal princess in a mythological drama, but Thangalaan isn’t quite that... “I had a different visual in my mind (laughs). But I have always wanted to play a powerful role. It’s always lovely to look like the quintessential characters in movies like Baahubali or Ponniyin Selvan, but I couldn’t have aimed for a role like Aarathi because nothing of that sort had been done before in Indian movies.”

This lack of references to turn to is one of the many reasons that made the film a monumental task for her. First and foremost, the actor was roped in at the last minute, when she was not prepared for a role that demanded such muscle work. “When Thangalaan came to me, I was doing Christy, playing a small-town Malayali girl. I stopped working out and watching my diet because I had to look normal and not athletic.” This was too big an opportunity to let go because it was with an acting powerhouse like Vikram, and because ace director Ranjith writes female characters with flair, she says. “You can’t be dancing around the tree all the time — not to take away anything from that — because you need to prove yourself as a performer to be in the game for the long run.”

Ranjith shot with Malavika for a couple of days, only to realise it was necessary to give her time to prepare. “He then went ahead to shoot schedules that didn’t involve Aarathi, and that’s when my boot camp began.” For the next two-and-a-half months, Malavika had to practise the martial arts of silambam and follow a stringent diet plan.

Getting the character’s physicality right was the first step. She had to rigorously follow a routine, read the script repeatedly, and talk to Ranjith constantly. “Ranjith sir, for instance, made me watch Viola Davis’ historical adventure TheWoman King to observe the physicality, power and the effortlessness within the power, of the women in the film.”