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Jayaram plays a yesteryear hero in Nayika

Jayaram plays the hero from the past in director Jayaraj's Malayalam film Nayika, the story of a famous actress of yesteryear who mysteriously disappeared from the limelight. Urvashi Sarada, who has won three national awards, plays the title role. 

The shooting of the film is going on at Alappuzha. Deedi Damodaran has written the script. According to the director, "Jayaram's role will remind the viewers of both Prem Nazir and Sathyan."

Padmapriya plays the role of the young Sarada in the flashback scenes.

KPAC Lalitha dubbed for Urumi

Listen carefully to the narrator at the beginning of the recently released Urumi, directed by Santosh Sivan, and you will hear a voice quite different from the usual baritone heard in Malayalam cinema.

It is the voice of the hugely talented KPAC Lalitha, who seems to have thoroughly enjoyed the new experience.

Speaking to rediff.com during the shooting of director Jayaraj's Nayika at Alappuzha, she said: "I don't know how it came to me. It was Shankar Ramakrishnan (the scenarist of Urumi) who called me. I wasn't sure if I could do it well. So I told him, I will dub for sure but you just delete it if my voice is not suitable and I won't have a problem. I did the dubbing and I loved it. It was like acting for the first time and I was tense. Though I didn't tell anyone, I really wanted them to use my voice once I completed it.

When I saw Prithviraj during the shooting of Manikyakkallu, he told me that it has come out very well, but he wasn't sure if it will be used in the film. I was so happy when I heard it in the film; it felt like seeing me on screen for the first time. It was a truly wonderful experience."

KPAC Lalitha has earlier leant her voice to the female lead named Narayani in Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Mathilukal, based on Vaikom Mohammed Basheer's novel. In the film, the character played by Mammootty falls in love with Narayani, who is in the female ward of a jail, by talking to her from the other side of the wall. They never meet, and amazingly, Lalitha/Narayani never appears in person in the film.

Rising star

He is widely regarded as one of the brightest finds in Malayalam cinema in recent years. So, naturally, Asif Ali has quite a few releases lined up and projects at various stages of completion.

Siby Malayil's Violin, a music-and-romance tale, will have Asif playing the solo hero for the first time in his career. He was part of the veteran director's earlier project, Apoorvaragam, and will be in Siby's next directorial venture, which will start rolling soon. Asif's other release is director Aashiq Abu's Salt n Pepper, billed as a light-hearted entertainer.

Currently Asif is shooting for A K Sajan's Asuravithu and Joshiy's Sevens. It's a crucial time for the young actor and the next few months will decide his fate.