After spending nearly two decades in front of the camera, actor Kaniha decided to go behind it donning the director’s cap. Then struck SARS-CoV-2, upsetting her plans.
The popular actor of Malayalam and Tamil cinema had finished the shooting of her maiden short film before the lockdown began in her hometown Chennai, but the post-production work remained. Still, she released Maa on YouTube on Sunday.
“I did the post-production completely online, as I wanted to release the film on Mother’s Day,” Kaniha told The Hindu over phone from Chennai.
“I got the film edited and the background music recorded through discussions with my editor and composer over phone.”
‘More challenging’
Direction has been a dream for Kaniha, who acted in successful Malayalam films like Pazhassi Raja and Bhagyadevatha.
“I always wanted to get involved in more aspects of film-making,” she says. “Acting is only a part of cinema. Direction is much more challenging.” However, the pandemic and the resultant lockdown posed a different kind of challenge. “Doing the post-production work cooped up in my apartment was not easy,” she says. “I needed to dub for my part, which I did using my phone and lapel microphone.”
‘Good response’
Kaniha is glad that Maa is well received. “Actor Mammootty and director Ranjith told me that they liked the film,” she says. “I want to direct films of a longer duration a little later.”
She says she is slowly getting used to the lockdown. “Things are of course bad here in Tamil Nadu,” she says. “It will surely be a while before we can think of resuming work in cinema.”
She is impressed by the way Kerala has responded to the crisis. “I think Kerala has done really well to limit the spread of the virus,” she says. Kaniha, whose last release was Mamangam, says she has been a watching a lot of Malayalam films during the lockdown.
On new films
“I enjoyed watching Fahadh Faasil in Trance and Kumbalangi Nights. What a gifted actor he is!” she says. “I also liked Ayappanum Koshiyum.”
