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'National Award is a surprise'
Shobhana, second-time National Award-winner, is elated
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I knew I had done a good job in the movie, but I never thought it would fetch me the National Award," says Shobhana, who shared the honours for best actress this year alongside Tabu, for her film Mitr -- My Friend. "I am happy that the jury headed by eminent filmmaker K S Sethumadhavan thought that I deserved the honour," she adds.
Shobhana felt that the recognition has rejuvenated her as an actress. "The National award has prodded me to work in films which offer roles of substance," she adds.
A classical dance exponent and front-runner in Malayalam cinema, Shobhana has come a long way from her debut film April 18. Mitr sees her as a traditional Indian housewife living in the US. She is unable to cope with the American culture and tries to protect her daughter from its influence. Besides, her efforts to raise her stagnating marriage fails miserably. She turns to the Internet and makes a friend online, and this changes her life.
Mitr - My Friend is directed by debutante Revathy Menon. Shobhana claims that she accepted the offer only because Revathy was a friend and the role excited her. ''I am thankful to her for having had the faith in me when she offered me the role," she says.
The actress said that she identified with the character she was playing. "As an actress, you rarely get to portray a volatile role. Most of the time, one only gets an opportunity to work only in hero-oriented films in which you end up only as a glamour girl without any significant contribution to the film as such," she adds.
"I am ready to act, provided I get meaty roles. At this stage of my career, I am keen on working in only roles of substance. I do not want to strut around in films in which I have mediocre roles." She adds, "It has been a great advantage having a celebrity aunt like Padmini as far as getting access to producers' offices is concerned. But, at the end of the day, if you are not talented, no one will be ready to back you. You have got to come up on your own steam."
Having acted in around 300 films till date with stars like Kamal Haasan, Rajanikant, Mohanlal and Mamootty, for Shobhana acting in films was not the be all and end all of her life. "I am busy with my dance performances the world over. Recently, I performed a jugalbandhi on the stage with the celebrated Zakir Hussain. It was a wonderful experience," she says.
The actress longs to play a role of a dancer in dance-oriented musical film. "I am yet to work in a dance-centric film, and hope to get an opportunity to play a role like the one played by Rekha in Umrao Jaan or Meena Kumari in Pakeezah," Shobhana adds.