Malavika Mohanan wishes South film industries were better organised

It was in 2013 that actor Malavika Mohanan marked her debut with Malayalam film Pattam Pole. Ever since, she has worked in films across Kannada, Tamil and Hindi languages. As she awaits the release of the Hindi film Yudhra, she says that Bollywood is “a lot more organised”.

Mohanan elaborates, “What I do like about the Hindi film industry is that schedules are thoroughly adhered to. So, you’re aware of which scene you’re shooting for on a particular day and that lets you prepare well. For instance, if there’s a song being shot on the tenth day of the schedule, I know that I’ve to physically prep for it a couple of days prior.”

While she shares that her heart also belongs to South cinema, she wishes that the industries there become better organised. “I love working there. But I do wish they had better planning. If a scene doesn’t get over on a certain day as per schedule, it gets spilled over to the next day. That’s how things often get pushed and then actors become unavailable because of other professional commitments,” she rues.

The 28-year-old adds, “Often, our dialogues are given very last minute and it becomes very tough to prepare in the way we would like.”

However, the actor, who will also be seen in the Tamil film Maaran, wants to continue juggling between regional and Hindi cinema: “The culture across industries is different. Hence, when you work across multiple industries, you meet so many types of people belonging to different backgrounds.”

Talking about how these experiences makes her job as an actor all the more exciting, Mohanan shares, “From going to shoot in a small village in Tamil Nadu to an exotic island in Portugal – who else gets to live this kind of life apart from actors and filmmakers!”