My Malayalam films were thrilling: Kamalinee Mukherjee

In a span of six years, Kamalinee Mukherjee has done only four films in Malayalam. But the characters and the kind of projects she picked have been such that the Bengali beauty has become a household name here. Kamalinee, who played Mohanlal’s heroine Myna in the recently released mass thriller Pulimurugan, considers her journey in Malayalam quite incredible and adventurous. In conversation with the actress:What was it like to be Myna, the ever-angry bird?A lot of people were surprised to see me in the Myna avatar, which is nothing like me! But the good part is that they all loved the Myna — Murugan chemistry and liked me on screen with Mohanlal sir.The first thing director Vysakh told me as I joined the crew was ‘Myna doesn’t smile. So, be prepared to look angry all the time!’ She has no facades and is a sulker. Anger is her way of showing love and affection, and it was quite a challenge for me to bring that across, convincingly. It was quite exhilarating to get into her shoes — especially leaving behind all the mannerisms of a city girl and conducting myself like Myna, all the way.Was it your attempt at trying out stunts on screen?Oh yes, and I loved it! It was my director who choreographed my stunt sequences and working on them was an out-of-the-world experience for me.I remember the first day on the set, when I saw a speck marked on the top of a tree and innocently asked Vysakh, ‘What is it?’ He replied ‘Oh, that’s your position for the scene!’ I was like, ‘No way,’ as I am scared of heights. But at the end of it, I surprised myself. Probably because it was all natural for Myna, into whose skin I had dissolved by then. For her, climbing a tree, running barefoot in the jungle or jumping into a lagoon was natural.Till then, I had kept myself away from extreme physical activities like adventure sports and stunts. Pulimurugan opened up a vista of such opportunities for me. Now I have the courage and enthusiasm to try them all out.Were the action bits the most challenging part of the film?Actually, no! The most difficult part was forgetting a city-bred Kamalinee, totally. I have absolutely no rural connect; I studied in a convent school and a city college, and such ways are stamped on me. And here I was, trying to be a ‘jungle-girl’. Whether it was the way she spoke, walked or even sat down, everything had to have a rural touch to it. And besides all of these, I had to remember to be angry all the time too!But I was Myna for so long that now I miss her.All of your characters here are quite experimental in nature. Is it a conscious choice?Yes, and I am also fortunate that such projects are coming my way in Malayalam. My effort is to continuously take up different characters in every language. I would want to constantly feel that I am growing as an actor. The Malayalam industry in general is quite experimental and bold and not one which typecasts you. All of my films here have been thrilling adventure rides, whether it was Kutty Srank with Shaji sir, Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla with V K Prakash or Cousins with Vysakh. I was a 19-year-old just understanding her sexuality in Kutty Srank, an adventurous tourist guide in Natholi and a dancer in Cousins. The same Vysakh who gave me a song in Cousins had the guts to come to me with Myna! I hope the one after Pulimurugan is even more astounding.What are your upcoming projects?I have a Tamil film coming up, titled Thuppariyum Shaankar, directed by a debut filmmaker Jayaram. It’s a period movie and I would be appearing in a 50s look, complete with saris with small pallus and flowers on my hair. My look in it is completely different from that of my previous Tamil film Iraivi, and Pulimurugan. I am also in talks for a Telugu film.We heard that you are also taking off to the US for a few months, for academicsYes I am, and I will be doing my upcoming projects after that. I am going to pursue a course that is partly related to films, for a while. That’s all I can say about it, as of now.