Slow and steady is the only way to grow, says actor Kalyani Priyadarshan

kalyani priyadarshan impresses as a football commentator in sesham mike-il fathima and will play a fighter in antony

Kalyani Priyadarshan seems to be in the Pathu mode at present. She is as chirpy as her character Pathu, aka Fathima Noorjahan from Sesham Mike-il Fathima, a vivacious, talkative football fan from football-crazy Malappuram who dreams of becoming a football commentator.

“Relief. That was the first emotion I felt when the film was released, followed by joy when people appreciated the role,” says the actor over the phone from the sets of her fourth Tamil film, Genie, starring Jayam Ravi.

Fathima, often addressed as Chilambachi, meaning chatterbox, belongs to a middle-class Muslim family. She questions societal norms about how a woman, especially a Muslim one, should be. The confident Fathima has to face several hurdles when she attempts to break into the male bastion of commentators. How she overcomes the hurdles to achieve her goal is the narrative of the film.

“I was worried because everybody knows I can’t speak Malayalam fluently. I had to say lengthy Malayalam dialogues in Malabar dialect. Moreover, for the first time, I was carrying a film on my shoulders,” she says.

Kalyani admits that she was extremely nervous about playing the lead. “I have had limited screen time in most of my movies. The attention was often on other actors because I have shared the screen mostly with big names in the industry — be it Sobhana ma’am (Varane Avashyamundu) or Lal uncle (Mohanlal in Bro Daddy). I don’t know what I did to overcome my apprehensions,” she explains.

When Manu gave her the script and told her that she had to dub for her character, she immediately said yes. “I knew it was going to be a challenge. In fact, one of the first persons with whom I discussed the project was Rajuettan [actor-filmmaker Prithviraj]. We were then working together in Bro Daddy [which he was directing as well]. I asked him because he knows how much Malayalam I can speak and about my acting. He told me that it was a great role. His advice was, ‘If you take this as a challenge, and you are able to achieve it, then nobody will question your ability as an actor.’ For me it was an opportunity to show whether I am versatile.”

She adds that dubbing was an elaborate process for her. “Script assistant Azra Anjum is from Malappuram and she sent me voice notes of the dialogues. I learnt them and could manage 60% of the dialogue delivery. But I needed more help and that came from Surabhi chechi [actor Surabhi Lakshmi] who was with me throughout the dubbing,” she says.