THEATRE IS MY BIGGEST AND FIRST LOVE: SUCHITRA PILLAI

Suchitra Pillai, whose latest show ‘Hello Mini 3’ is streaming on MX player, talked about her role and what made her accept the offer. The actress was gregarious in sharing her experience as an actress and also offered a glimpse into her filmography.

When asked about what led her to take up the role in ‘Hello Mini 3’, the actress said, “What 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, Suchitra said, “I play a head of some sort of cult. The character has a very hypnotic personality.” She added, “ It is very interesting and powerful role and is a new entrant in the show.” Responding to whether she has seen season 1 and season 2 of the show, Suchitra informed that season 2 was shot alongside season 3 but she did watch season 1.

What genre she prefers to watch, Suchitra responded, “I love watching thrillers, horror, and 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 actress who chooses to be part of all sorts of mediums be it theatre, TV, film, or 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. A film will take a long time to make whereas in an OTT project finishes sooner,” she responded when asked about the difference in the three mediums. “With a daily soap, you are stuck with 22 days a month and that becomes a bit monotonous,” the actress added. “I have run the whole gamut. Theatre is my biggest and first love. Had the theatre paid me more or I was on Broadway, I would have been doing theatre only,” she admitted with a beaming smile.

Talking about her experience in the industry Suchitra shared, “I have been in the industry for 27 years, about 23 years in India and for four years before I was working in England. I have been a VJ, a part of the old tv serials and Balaji TV serials. My journey has been very interesting. I turned 50 last year and have no qualms in saying that I worked the most last year than I have in a long time.”

Talking about game-changing projects or roles in her career, she 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. The movie was also a turning point for me story-wise. It’s a hard-hitting film that needs to be seen by all because it deals with teenage depression. OTT is the game changer for me. ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ was a game-changer for me as far as Indian Cinema is concerned.”

Suchitra added, “The OTT platform is another big game-changer for actors all around because of how we work, how we get more money and it’s interesting as you get more interesting stuff to do here. The storylines are different and the directors are experimenting which is great.”

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

On a concluding note, Suchitra 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”.