Tomboy Roma



The chirpiest star of Mollywood is busy collecting kudos after ‘Bombay March 12’ hit theatres. Though she agrees her character in the film is a surprise break from her regular avatars, the actor insists she is not bored playing the street-smart tomboy either.

“I played this cute and naughty character in a string of films like ‘Chocolate’, ‘Lollipop’, ‘Minnaminnikoottam’ and ‘Colours.’ But I don’t think I was caught up in any image trap. I enjoyed doing all those bold and bubbly roles and if someone comes to me with another I will take it up. I will keep doing it till the end of my career since everybody doesn’t get to do such vivacious roles. It’s not easy as it seems and you need the right personality to carry off such high energy characters. But as an actor I would like to experiment and do equally serious stuff to keep the equilibrium,” she says.

Roma started off playing a teen in ‘Notebook.’ In the films that followed was mostly cast opposite either Jayasurya or Prithviraj. But now she has officially entered the big league teaming up with Mammootty in ‘Bombay March 12’ and Mohanlal in ‘Casanova’. “It was an amazing experience working with two of India’s most talented actors. Sharing screen space with them definitely is a matter of pride for me,” she says.

She says she was really thrilled to bag ‘Abida,’ a stark contrast to all her previous characters. “I never knew I‘d be lucky enough to get an outstanding role like this, especially in my first association with Mammootty. Playing the role of a Muslim lass was something I always wanted and a couple of roles came my way too. But none of them was exciting enough. When Babu Janardhanan told me about ‘Abida’ some instinct in me told that this is it, this is the thing I have been waiting for.”

Roma doesn’t believe in crazy homework to get into the skin of a character. “I accept the director’s and script writer’s view of the character rather than what I think of it. I believe in their version as that character has been in their minds for a long while. I am confident that they will mould me into that character and it will show on screen. It’s like I am filled with the feel of that character and then I live with that for thirty or forty days. It has been the normal routine for all my films so far,” she says.

Roma says she has no qualms being a part of an ensemble cast. “Multi-starrers are the in thing now, even in Bollywood that is the trend. I think the single hero-heroine phase is passe. In that respect ‘Bombay March 12’ is a rare thing to happen, a film with a solo heroine, that too in an exceptionally powerful role opposite a superstar,” she says.

Though she agrees that every industry has a charm of its own, it’s Mollywood that offers substantial roles to actresses. “Compared to other industries it gives you something other than run-of-the-mill stuff,” she says. The character she plays in ‘Casanova’ opposite Mohanlal is a total surprise package. “The name is Ann and it’s a name scriptwriters keep on calling me,” she chirps. The actress is equally kicked about her next release ‘Chappa Kurishu’. “Like ‘Traffic’ it is a film where we all play characters, not stars,” she says.

Unlike other actors who claim they are not smitten by the Bollywood bug, Roma says B-Town is her biggest dream. “Though I completely believe in my dreams I don’t feel like chasing them. I have five releases this year and as of now I want to go slow,” she smiles.

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