Catherine: Language was never a problem

Catherine Tresa, a Malayali brought up in the Middle East, began her tinsel-town journey with Kannada movies and subsequently worked in Malayalam and Telugu.

It took her a while to do a Tamil film.

Directed by Ranjith, her first Tamil film, titled Madras, with Karthi in the lead role, released recently and has won both critical acclaim and commercial success.

An elated Catherine, who has now worked in all the four major South Indian languages, spoke about Madras, her forthcoming films and leading a hectic life.

Your first film in Tamil, Madras, is a hit. How does it feel?

I knew it was a very good film. I am grateful for this acceptance. The compliments and feedback is amazing.

I am overwhelmed by the love shown by the audience. I couldn’t be happier.

What made you act in this film?

It was an interesting character. It is rare to find such a well etched, well-written part.

The strong characterisation excited the actor in me. It was fun to pull it off.

The role was different and I love to do new stuff. The film too is different -- it breaks away from commercial conventions.

But commercially it has been amazing. The acceptance has been there from all sections of society.

It took you quite a while to do a Tamil film...

I don’t know why. When I was busy, I got scripts. I did Madras because of the script, which was compelling.

You play a lower middle class girl from the northern part of the city. How did you prepare for the part?

Our director had a workshop to get us into the tone and mode.

I came with a blank slate. I had to approach the character with a clean mind and not with the baggage of experience. This had to be fresh.

How helpful was the director Ranjith in getting you to perform the role?

He was extremely helpful. He guided me and made sure I understood the character.

For me, understanding the character is important. I asked him a zillion questions. I cannot perform unless I understand and have a grip over things.

I followed the brief and put my own spin on things.

The role is not glamorous as in your Telugu films...

My director seemed to think my role was glamorous.

Glamour, for me, is looking good. It has nothing to do with short clothes.

Being in churidars is also being glamorous.

Would you rank this as one of your difficult roles?

I would say it is different, not difficult. Challenges are fun. It’s no fun being repetitive.

This was exciting and I had a blast shooting for the film.

How was Karthi?

Karthi is passionate as an actor like I am. We had that in common.

We would go over the scene and improvise with the director’s inputs.

Karthi was fabulous in every shot.

How did you overcome the language barrier?

When I started out in films, I didn’t know any of the languages I worked in.

Language has never been a problem. I have a knack of picking them up and my memory is good.

What was working with director Ranjith like?

He is cool and chilled out. Not once did I hear above a certain decibel level.

On many occasions he could have lost his cool but he didn’t and I admire that.

He is very clear about who should be doing what. That kind of clarity helped me.

You are now working on your second Tamil film Kanithan. What is its status on that?

Yes, we are still shooting the film. The talkie portions and two-three songs are left.

With this film you have acted in all the four South Indian languages...

I really love cinema and language is not the deciding factor. I want to do good characters and good cinema.

In Telugu you are doing Errabus (a remake of the Tamil film Manjappai) with Vishnu Manchu, and the period film Rudramadevi...

There is still a song left in Errabus. What is important is that I am being directed by Dasari (Dasari Narayana Rao) garu, a veteran and fantastic director.

In Rudramadevi I do a cameo as Princess Anambika opposite Gona Ganna Reddy (played by Allu Arjun).

It is interesting and exciting to try my hand at a period film. I shot for three days and it turned out well. Now I have an idea of what people in that era wore, how they lived etc.

How do you cope with back-to-back projects?

Yeah, I have been living out of suitcases. I try to go home – I have a place in Hyderabad - when I can.

However, I am a person who adjusts to any environment – even a hotel. I have staff who make me feel comfortable wherever I am.