Actress Anarkali Marikar
, who made her debut in with Aanandam, showcased a stellar performance as Sariya D Costa in the Parvathy-starrer
Uyare
. Many have praised Anarkali for playing the character, who stood by her best friend and acid attack survivor, Pallavi, during her toughest times.
We talk to Anarkali on how much the role has helped her career, her experience of working with
Parvathy and more.
On playing Sariya, a character that Anarkali says she put her heart and soul to give life on screen, the actress says, “When I was doing the character, I had no idea that it would be so well received by the audience. I am glad that through Uyare, I could exemplify the kind of friendship that everyone would want in their lives. Everyone wants a friend like Sariya. Rather than being sympathetic towards her friend, she calmly deals with the situations that life throws at Pallavi.”
While talking about how it was to put herself in the world of Pallavi, who goes through a harrowing experience and yet serves as an inspirational figure, Anarkali recollects the scene when Sariya confronts Pallavi soon after the medical tests.
“I was not that close to Parvathy while we were shooting that scene because it was one of the first few sequences that we filmed. I remember sitting there and Parvathy entering the room with all her make-up of the acid survivor. I was shocked when I first saw her. The entire set was silent as no one knew how to react. You unknowingly become empathetic towards her, and even get disturbed by the sight. At that time, I really felt the attack happened to one of my friends. I felt like crying, but I didn’t want to do that in front of Parvathy. I couldn’t say a word for the fear of being teary-eyed. She actually thought something was wrong with me,” reveals the actress, adding that she later explained to Parvathy how she felt overwhelmed.
Anarkali is also all praise for Parvathy’s acting and says that it was a learning experience working with the actress. “It is a beauty to see her act. Before the shoot, she has a process, where she would be silent and be in a different mood altogether. She wouldn’t talk to anyone and would be listening to music or something. She would be preparing herself mentally before a shot and that itself is a delight. She would tell me how to make a scene better and was very supportive. More than a friend, she was a like a chechi to me,” says Anarkali.
Sometime ago, the actress had shared a photo of her wearing a swimsuit and the social media post was at the receiving end of a few derogatory comments. “I did not say a word during the time. Initially all I got were negative comments. Eventually, however, a lot of people supported me, asking, ‘Swimming poolil pinne entha purdah idano?’ (Should you wear purdah in a swimming pool?). I thought people are always going to say something – positive or negative. However, I don’t think people need to worry whether my cleavage was seen in that photograph.”
Anarkali says that it’s the tendency of Malayalis to belittle their own, while praising someone outside the State if they shared similar photographs online. “I realised whether you say something or not, people’s mindsets are not going to change,” she says.
She had also faced online backlash for another photoshoot that she had done for one of her friends’ project. “I liked its concept that if a bra strap is seen, it doesn’t mean anything. It was something that I also wanted to say. However, the response was quite surprising. I found out that not just seeing the strap, even if you talk about it, there are people who make a fuss and find it offensive,” explains Anarkali.
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