Matching with Mammookka was the biggest challenge in 'Turbo': Anjana Jayaprakash

Actor Anjana Jayaprakash impressed Malayali moviegoers as the vivacious Hamsadwani in Fahadh Faasil starrer ‘Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum’. Meanwhile, the Tamil audience loved her in the TV series ‘Queen’. She plays a pivotal role in the latest mass entertainer ‘Turbo’ starring screen icon Mammootty in the lead role. The Vysakh directorial, in which Anjana essays the role of Indulekha has opened to fabulous reviews.

Indulekha is strong
In filmmaker Akhil Sathyan’s words, Hamsadwani is a ‘crush material’. The sweet romance is what charms the audience in ‘Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum’. “The audience perceived Hamsadwani just as Paachu sees her. She is a woman who hides lots of pain within her. But, Indulekha’s priority isn’t romance. She would openly say whatever comes to her mind,” says Anjana.
Cool Mammookka
Anjana met Mammootty for the first time on the sets of ‘Turbo’. The actor says that Mammootty appeared in his real avatar as the megastar wasn’t shooting that day. Interestingly, Mammootty knew ‘Hamsadwani’. Anjana admits she kept gazing at Mammootty with admiration on the first day. Moreover, she got the chance to spend some quality time with the screen icon during filming and at the time of the promotions too. “Just like all other Malayalis, I too was star-struck. However, I was all right as soon as we began acting as Jose and Indulekha. I was scared a bit in the beginning. So, I refused to ask questions or clear doubts. But, Mammookka is someone who makes everyone comfortable. He offers valid suggestions even if we do not ask. His suggestions and advice have often helped me while acting. I felt happy whenever he said I did well,” notes the actress.

Acting with Mammookka
“My biggest challenge was to match up to Mammookka in performance. He is someone with an amazing screen presence. However, it would be difficult to perform well if you focus solely on that. So, I tried to clearly follow the instructions of the director. Besides the dialogues, Indulekha had quite a lot to emote. She goes through complex emotions like anger, fear, sadness and helplessness. Mammookka is an actor who can communicate a lot with just a look. I was aware that I could perform well only if I worked hard. I tried learning certain reactions and emoting from him,” remarks Anjana.

Stunt performance
Anjana says that all the stunts in the action thriller were performed by following the necessary safety measures. However, everyone was a bit scared as high–octane action sequences were part of the movie. In a stunt sequence, Anjana was raised using a harness. All those were new and exciting experiences for the actress. “I felt thrilled as if I was on a ride in an amusement park. Meanwhile, Mammookka was ready and willing to try anything. So, I too wanted to perform well. Mammookka was all set to film the fight sequences without the help of dupes. So, I too did the stunts without showing any fear,” smiles the actress.

Climax ‘chasing’
“It was a unique experience acting in the chasing sequences in the climax. There were two vehicles that looked similar. Those vehicles were equipped with all the safety features. Vysakh used to ask me whether I felt nauseous or whether I wanted water in the scenes where the vehicles were raced at top speed. But, I was not ready to give up. My heart was racing on the first day of filming those sequences. However, I got used to everything by November. My parents visited the set while we were shooting some of these scenes. When they came, we were filming a sequence where vehicles were driven at normal speed. Nevertheless, they got tense seeing everything. I told them these were nothing as we had already shot the difficult ones,” says Anjana.

No more breaks
Anjana took breaks between projects due to many reasons. However, she intentionally took a break after ‘Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum’. It took around four months to complete the filming of ‘Turbo’. The breaks before that weren’t deliberate; it happened due to the COVID-19 outbreak and many other reasons. Anjana noted that there had been a gap of three years between the web series ‘Queen’ and ‘Pachuvum Athbutha Vilakkum. Moreover, the filming of the latter took more time to complete. Anjana promises that she doesn’t wish to take such long breaks between projects anymore.
Amazing responses
“I watched the movie in Dubai with my family and friends. The movie is getting amazing responses there too. The audience laughs at the jokes while they applaud and whistle wherever that is required. I feel so happy seeing such spectacular reactions,” Anjana signs off.