Akshara Haasan says that the best way to deal with difficult topics is to bring in some humour and light heartedness to it. Sure enough in her latest outing, Raja Ramamurthy’s Achcham Madam Naanam Payirppu, the spunky youngster is seen donning the character of a naïve 19-year-old Pavithra with just the right amount of comic timing and moments of poignancy in the coming of age film. Drawing much attention in the international film circuit (the English title of the film is ‘Myth Of The Good Girl’), the film boldly deals with subjects like sex education, premarital sex and the way it is perceived our country.
We recently caught up with the Vivegam star, along with her co-star, singer Usha Uthup, as they chatted with INDULGE about what the film (which released today on Amazon Prime Video), meant to them.
Akshara explained how she agreed with the way the subjects of sex education and intimacy were dealt with in the script. "The issues dealt here are not flippant. The reason I feel the film works is because it offers humour and at the same time, sensitivity where needed." While the character of Pavithra is created around a conservative family set-up, Akshara obviously has had a very different upbringing. How did she find any connect with the role? Akshara concurred and said, “Agreed that our cultural backgrounds are very different – and I didn’t have a restrictive environment while growing up. However, the feeling of confusion about what one must do and how will it be perceived by the world or the society at large is something I can relate to. That’s how I could empathise with Pavithra’s issues and get under the skin of the character.”
Talking about the on-set camaraderie, veteran singer Usha explained that working with Akshara meant a lot to her as she had memories of the actor as a little girl. “I have seen her grow up. So I have great affection for her already – and now seeing her handle herself so well, being so talented (which is a given considering her parents are such powerhouses of talent themselves)... makes me very proud of her. And being a grandmother to her (in the film) came very naturally to me.” Usha further adds that enacting the role of a Carnatic singer was a tad challenging – which she managed with the support of the team that includes playback singer Malgudi Subha as Pavithra’s mother.
Achcham Madam Naanam Payirppu is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.