Samyuktha was last year seen in Pawan Kalyan's 'Bheemla Nayak' and Kalyan Ram's 'Bimbisara'. This week, she is going to be seen in the Telugu release 'SIR', starring Dhanush as the hero. The same has been shot in Tamil as 'Vaathi'. The film is going to hit the screens on February 17.

In this interview, Samyuktha talks about her journey so far, working with Dhanush and director Venky Atluri, why she has removed her surname 'Menon' from her name, and more.

Highlights

I began my career in 2016 with a Malayalam movie. I saw it as a vacation. I started taking acting seriously in 2018. Then, two years later, came the covid pandemic. I am from a village in Kerala. There was a time when I felt acting was not my area. I thought of going back to studies. Destiny is what brought me back to movies. I fell in love with cinema after a reluctant start. I now love the process of acting and filmmaking. I consider it spiritual and divine. There is an urge in me to be versatile. The best phase started after my Tollywood entry.

'Virupaksha' with Sai Dharam Tej is my next movie in Telugu. It happened before 'Bheemla Nayak' came my way. I loved the changes they made to my counterpart's character from the original ('Ayyappanum Koshiyum'). Sithara Entertainments, which produced 'BN', asked me to listen to the script of 'SIR'. I met Venky Atluri, whose beautiful story and narration I loved. My gut feeling was that I would feel good if I do the film. I participated in a look test the very next day.

I play a school teacher in 'SIR'. I observed the body language and way of speaking of school teachers as part of my homework. The best acting happens when we are spontaneous. It has to happen as a flow. Some roles, however, require a different approach. I went around a few villages in the Telugu States to get a sense of rural life here. That's the homework I did for 'SIR'. The writer-director crafted my character with so much care. I trusted the writing and went ahead.

I was very excited to work with Dhanush. I have been a fan of his. He is a big star, who has been working across languages. Dhanush sir would encourage me always. He is a spontaneous and subtle performer. He knows how to handle a character's arc the right way.

Director Venky Atluri's movies have female characters throughout the film. In 'SIR', when there is a conflict/crisis, my character's journey is with the male lead. He is both the writer and director of the film. He could extract the right emotions from me. That way, it was very easy to work with him because he was crystal clear. He was mostly chilled out on set. He just does his job.

I am grateful to Sithara Entertainments for giving me two movies back to back.

I have got to share screen space with a variety of actors. I only think about how good a character is, and how good the script is. When we work with big stars, by default, we get the love of their fans. A good script is a big plus. Content has taken over everything right now.

When I am on a film set, I only think about the moment. We have to be truly in the moment. When we are in the character, my state of mind is focused on that character. It's like meditation. I am lost in the character and forget about myself. You have to be a good listener, trusting the director's brief completely. It's for this reason that I am learning Telugu. My focus is only on being a good actor. I want love from the audience, I want their support, and I want to entertain them. I want to be with them. The rest doesn't bother me.

I have stopped using 'Menon' after my first name. It has a certain social identity associated and therefore, I have stopped using the surname. I don't want to project that I come from this or that social background. I am just a human!

I took about 16 to 17 Telugu language classes. I am fluent in Tamil. It gives me a lot of joy when people like me to speak in Telugu on set. There was a time when I was associated with the English language by my colleagues. After I started interacting with them in Telugu, they started seeing me as a Telugu woman!

Interviewers are asking me about what I think about love these days! Love is conceived as romantic by everyone. Why can't it be love for my career, passion, family, etc. As for marriage, I don't find it necessary for now. There was a time when marriage was made to feel necessary. Girls would be shown in films dreaming about marriage for security, care, etc. Women now know how to be financially independent, etc. Our thinking has changed.

People liken me to Samantha but I would be happier if they said my acting is as good as hers.