Malayalam films my priority, says Aishwarya Lekshmi

Kumari is a film made for theatrical experience, she says about her latest release

Aishwarya Lekshmi may have made her debut a bit late – she was doing her MBBS, to be fair – but she has wasted little time in establishing herself as one of the most exciting heroines of South Indian cinema at the moment.

“Malayalam films continue – and will continue – to be my priority,” she may insist, but there is no denying the fact that cinemas of other languages, like Tamil and Telugu, also want pieces of her. Especially after Mani Ratnam’s Tamil blockbuster Ponniyin Selvan: I.

Her portrayal as the victim of domestic violence in the new Telugu film Ammu is another reminder of her exceptional talent, which was so obvious in the 2017 Malayalam film Mayaanadhi. She is now excited about her latest release, in Malayalam, Kumari.

Aishwarya is also one of the film’s producers. “I am proud about my association in Kumari,” she says, at a Meet-the-Press programme, here on Wednesday. “It is a film made for the theatrical experience and I hope people will watch it in cinemas.”

Kumari is the second film she is co-producing. Her first was Gargi (Tamil).

“I decided to be part of film production because I wanted to associate with good movies,” she says. “The decision to invest in Gargi was easy as its lead star Sai Pallavi is such a big name.”

The biggest film of her career has, of course, been Ponniyin Selvan: I. “I was surprised to get a call from Mani Ratnam and was so nervous for the better part of the shoot,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting to get an opportunity like that so early in my career; it was only my sixth film.”