Excerpts

On her retirement:

I began my career as an actress when I was 18. Working in 50 films in a span of 7 years was very taxing. Even the best of workers would get tired. I felt that I had enough of professional life in cinema. I wanted to explore something new, look out for other possibilities. It was almost like I never had a personal life so long as I was an actress. I was busy in Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam. It was a feeling of excitement when I wanted to retire from films and rededicate myself to something new.

On her social work:

I have had great amount of satisfaction working for a range of causes. Recently when I attended a conference of women leaders, which was attended by several women leaders from across the world, an American speaker said that there comes a point in every woman’s life when she wants to work for something greater than herself. It dawned upon me then that I had such a self-discovery 20 years back.

In the last two decades, I worked with 16 organisations. I learnt from them how to speak and to exert myself for different causes. I worked for spreading awareness about HIV at a time when it was rampant and the AIDS was a big malady in India. HIV was almost unknown about to people; the AIDS-affected were stigmatised everywhere. I did my best to spread the message that couples must get tested for HIV so that they will not unwittingly spread that to their loved ones.

I believe in speaking up when the need arises. I worked for organisations involved in women-related causes. I worked with organisations engaged in empowering widows through education, with the sole aim of pulling them out of the trap of poverty.

Then I worked for environmental groups as well. Social groups, communities based in rural areas, etc have been my other interests. I feel that what I have done so far is just a tiny drop in the ocean. At least once every day, I say to myself that I should have done much better. Have you seen the film Shindler's List? I feel I could have done many more things.

On how LIB happened:

It was a big surprise to me. When Shekar called me on a day, I thought it was a casual call from him, probably to talk something about a good cause. (The director supports some good causes and always appreciated Amala's activities). But when he said that he had a nice role, I said don't joke. For 3-4 months, I kept saying that I would not act. He would continue to call him, but I constantly brushed aside his offer.

One day when he asked me to see the rushes, I obliged. I saw the montage of some children playing but the mother was missing. When he narrated me the role, I said that I will do it.

On her character in LIB:

I play a Telugu woman, a widowed one. She is far more traditional than my real me. She is contemporary, but she has the inner strength to bring up her three daughters. Despite losing her husband, she doesn’t collapse. She brings up her daughters on her own; she has grace. She tells them what to do, what not to do without being a peeve. She doesn’t nag, but only guides them gently. Her character gels with the cause that I work for.

How was it on Day One:

Since I was facing the arc lights after a long time, I was a bit nervous. I just did rehearsal for some of the scenes along with the children. Shekar let me have comfort level with the children. I wanted to acquaint myself with their timing and also wanted to let them understand my language limitation. I learnt that even they were anxious and then, the matured person in me exerted herself to help them out. By the time the camera came along, we were comfortable.

Akhil's visit:

Akhil had the opportunity to pay a visit on the sets. It was the first time that he watched me acting. He felt that the shoot was like a picnic, not a film shoot. That is how Shekar's sets resemble like.

Message through my role:

I don't think a film will be watched if it is made for the sake of spreading a message. I mean it may not be commercially viable. If the message is interwoven with the subject, it might work. For example, I play a widowed woman in LIB. A woman of fortitude, she likes to empower her three daughters, make them strong, even though she herself went through lot of hardships in her life.

Any demands on Nag?:

I will let Nag's career just be as it is. I have had enough of him in my life.