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Malavika Mohanan is a South Indian actress who works predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films. The daughter of cinematographer K. U. Mohanan, Malavika made her acting debut in the 2013 Malayalam film Pattam Pole. She gained praise for her starring role in Majid Majidi’s Hindi film Beyond the Clouds (2017). In an exclusive chat with Bollywood Bubble, Ms Mohanan speaks on how different South Indian industries are from Bollywood.
Malavika Mohanan on differences in South Indian industries & Bollywood
When asked how different South cinema is from Bollywood or the Hindi film industry, Mohanan answered, “I find differences more in terms of culture, but again every industry is different in this sense right? And as an actor, the first thing we ever learn is to adapt. You learn how to adapt to different languages, food, people, cultures, and the spoken and unspoken rules of any industry. Because actors are like the modern gypsies right, we need to travel a lot, someday in Hyderabad, next day some interior corner of Tamil Nadu or someday in the backwaters of Kerala.”
Further, she added, “So, you learn to accept people, you learn to adapt, you learn how to fit in, and you learn to not be otherworldly judgemental. So I think it’s more of, I think what I learnt about the industry is how to mould yourself as per where you are… however, one of the biggest differences I have noticed so far is the working hours, the working hours in Tamil, and Telugu films are a lot less. The shooting hours are 8-9 hours, but in Bollywood, it is around 12-13 hours which can go up to 14. So yeah timing wise there is a big difference.”
Malavika Mohanan on stereotypes about South Indian industries
When pointed out that other South Indian actors say that their cinemas are a lot more systematic when compared to Bollywood, Malavika said, “No, I feel that is a stereotype. Some films delay payments, have long shoot hours, or whatever. If you see the Malayalam film industry, you will see that the cast and crews eat lunch together. And it gives you a feeling of a community. You eat breakfast, and lunch with everyone, there is no hierarchy that actors and directors would sit differently to eat, that doesn’t exist much.”
Watch the full interview
