Theatre is my biggest and first love: Actor Suchitra Pillai

Suchitra Pillai, whose latest show Hello Mini 3 is streaming on MX player recently joined NewsX for an exclusive interview. She talked about her role in Hello Mini 3 and also told our viewers what made her accept the offer for the role. The actor was gregarious in sharing her experience as an actor and also offered our viewers a glimpse into her filmography

When asked about what led her to take up the role she is currently playing in Hello Mini 3, the actor said, “ What really got me hooked to this was the fact that Goldy Bahl (director) of the show called me after 23 years and said that only I can do this role ”. Briefing about her character in the show she said, “ Her character in the show is head of some sort of cult, with a very hypnotic personality”, adding more bits about her character in the show, she said, “ her character is very interesting and powerful and is a new entrant in the show “. Responding to the question of whether she has seen season 1 and season 2 of the show, the actor informed that season 2 was shot alongside season 3rd but she did watch season 1st.

In answer to the question of what is the genre she prefers to watch, the veteran actor responded, “I love watching thrillers, horror, crime mystery. I must have been a detective in my last life I don’t like war movies unless it’s something like Platoon”.

“ I have always been an actor who chose to be part of all sorts of medium whether it’s theatre, television film, OTT ..I am a dubbing artist for international actresses for the Hindi versions of the movies. I have never curtailed myself to be in only one genre. The difference in all of these mediums is that a film will take a very long time to make, OTT platform finishes off your work straight away” was her answer when asked about the difference in the three medium. “ with daily soap you are stuck with 22 days a month that becomes a little bit monotonous”, added Pillai.

“I have run the whole gamut. Theatre is my biggest and first love. Had the theatre paid her more or she was on Broadway I would have been doing theater only”, she admitted with a beaming smile.

Talking about her experience in the industry she shared, “ I have seen the whole gamut, I have been in the industry for altogether 27 years, about 23 years in India and four before years before when I started in England, I have seen the whole system of whether me being a VJ .. whether it was being a part of the old tv serials and then coming into Bala JI Tv serials. I have kind of seen a journey which has been very interesting to be part of. I turned 50 last year’s and I have no qualms in saying that I worked the most last year than I have for a long long time”.

Responding to question about game-changing projects or roles in her career, the actor said, “ The Hollywood film The Valley which I did in 2016 was what got me my first tick off my career bucket list of winning an international award. I won the best actress award at the Milan Film festival and I won best actress ay Long Island for that movie. The movie was also a turning point for me story-wise. It’s a very hard-hitting film that needs to be seen by all because it deals with teenage depression. Coming back to home OTT is the game changer for me. Dil Chahta was a game-changer for me as far as Indian Cinema is concerned no doubt”. She added, “ The OTT platform, I think is another big game-changer for actors all around because of how we work, how we get more money and it’s interesting because you get more interesting stuff to do here. The storylines are different and the directors have begun experimenting”.

“ Last year, sitting seven months at home was like torture for me, because I am of those people who needs to be doing 80 km a day in Mumbai. I was lucky that during the lock I had four releases on OTT that stood me in good stead”, she replied when asked about what kept her going during these trying times.

Towards the end of the segment, she said, “I have worked the most from September till now, I have done about seven or eight new projects. You are going to see me a lot this year in a lot of stuff and each one is completely different and I am very excited that MX player is the first one because why not start with being a Godwoman”.