'If I've goofed, I've goofed'

GEETHA RAO / TNN / Jan 3, 2007, 21:00 IST

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Actress Lakshmi talks about the lessons of last year: being more self-accepting and less fretful. And her heroes Jairam, Mohanlal and Vikram have all helped!

Actress Lakshmi talks about the lessons of last year: being more self-accepting and less fretful. And her heroes Jairam, Mohanlal and Vikram have all helped!
She's learnt to relax, not be so hard on herself and be more selfaccepting. She frets less about the camera angle, or a shot she could have done in 50 different ways.
Actress Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is certainly more self-assured now, with success coming her way, both in dance and films she's had four creditable performances through 2006, with the likes of Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Jairam.
"Earlier, I'd ask the director a 100 questions before a scene, be worried I'd make a fool of myself." But now she doesn't work herself into a lather over things, and that has helped her act better, she says.

There were days when if someone congratulated her on her performance, she'd think they were fibbing, and run herself down and not even shake hands. Or she'd be embarrassed if she was recognised. Now she's learnt to take it in her stride. "If I have goofed, I've goofed, but I've tried my best."
And in many ways, heroes like Jairam and Mohanlal have helped her give her best. Jairam, for example, with whom she's done Kanaka Simhasanam, would tell her to relax, not to take on so much.

With Mohanlal, she did Keerti Chakra, as his wife, a small flashback role. "It's an honest film, based on the terrorist issue." Mohanlal boosts his co-stars' performance she says.
When she had to do a song sequence, he told her not to lip-sync but to actually belt it out full-throated: the scenes came out really genuine. And he's caring: "A foodie, his cook travels with him, so Mohanlal would ask me what he could get cooked for me."
Another movie with Mohanlal was Paradesi, which she says is going to be a landmark movie, dealing as it does with the plight of Keralite Muslims in Pakistan. "Mohanlal is a cousin who's in love with me, but is helpless he can't help me as I'm married; all done very subtly."
And there's Smart City, with Suresh Gopi, in which she plays the role of an underworld don's daughter. The don's tired of his mafia life and gets her married to a man who'll give her a normal life.
"I seem to be doing a lot of mafia roles," laughs Lakshmi another has been Bheema, a Tamil film with Vikram, Prakash Rai and Trisha. "They are so chilled out. Vikram is quiet, but with a sense of humour.
Trisha, I noticed, carries her success lightly. And Prakash Rai, even though I understand Tamil, would go out of his way to translate everything into Kannada for me."
So Lakshmi's had a great year, in which she's done some growing up too. But the streak of child-woman remains, luckily. She says she's still a great giggler. In fact, as a kid, she'd be sent out of the school assembly because she'd be giggling away helplessly.
Almost once a week. On the sets too, she's been quite bad at times and asked directors for time out to get over her giggling fit and come back serious. Only to go off again.
geetrao@indiatimes.com

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