Meet Sushmita Bhat, who brought Nanditha to life in Mammootty’s ‘Dominic and the Ladies’ Purse'

The search for the name Sushmita Bhat began trending on social media soon after the song ‘Margazhi Thingal’ was released on the YouTube channel of Mammootty Kampany. The visuals were from the movie ‘Dominic and the Ladies' Purse’, produced by the company, and they showed the dance of a young woman with expressive eyes which displayed a series of diverse emotions one after the other. From the fluid movements, a viewer could hardly read the emotion at a particular time – whether it was love, lust, or concealment. Actor and Bharatanatyam dancer Sushmita, who enacted the role of the dancer Nanditha, speaks on her career, first Malayalam movie, and personal life.

An Electronics and Communication Engineering graduate, Sushmita’s entry into the film industry was incidental. She started learning classical dance from a young age and continues the effort. “I took a break while studying the pre-university course, but resumed learning dance soon after. The dance classes continued even while pursuing BTech,” she says.

Sushmita debuted in the Telugu movie ‘Natyam’, centered on a dance theme. She appeared as one of the supporting dancers in the film. Another student in her dance class had introduced her to the filmmakers. She soon enacted a major role in the Kannada romantic comedy ‘Chow Chow Baat’ released last year and completed her work in a Tamil movie which is all set for release.

Meanwhile, it was the leading costume designer in Malayalam Sameera Saneesh who recommended Sushmita to ‘Dominic and the Ladies' Purse’ after noticing her posts on social media. “As a performer, I consider social media as a platform to display and share my art. I am active on Instagram, sharing photos and reels. Among my notable works is an experimental retro photo shoot with a photographer friend, Biplab. Sameera followed my work on social media and suggested my name for the role of Nanditha in ‘Dominic’, says Sushmita. She was selected after an audition and Sameera herself designed Sushmita’s costumes in the movie.

Sushmita says she was able to emote better for the role because of her ability to dance. “In dance, the artist communicates with the audience entirely through fine movements. Emotions such as happiness, sadness, and love are expressed by body movements,” she says. She adds that her character in 'Dominic...' was multi-layered. A dancer, Nanditha creates an impression of mystery among the audience from the time she appears on screen. “She displays sadness over the loss of her brother, the courage of a young woman living alone, and also a fleeting sense of love. She also appears to be someone who is mysterious. Such varied emotions are conveyed to the viewers by a play of expressions. The director guided me on the emotions for each scene,” she says.

‘Margazhi Thingal’ is receiving a good response, as all the mysterious aspects of Nanditha’s character are hidden in the song. “I try to respond to all the comments received for the song on YouTube and Instagram. The full credit for the song should go to choreographer Brinda Master, who is a legend,” says Sushmita. “The song has two sections. In the second section, the total mood changes when the male voice comes over. I worked hard to bring perfection to that scene. The song was shot in two sections. We had to start afresh whenever there was a new take. While performing, you have no idea whether the shot is a closeup or a long shot. My focus was entirely on the dance,” she says.

Sushmita was curious to know how the dance scene appeared on screen after the final edit. However, she saw the scene only in the theatre, along with the audience. “The movie’s editor Antony could beautifully present my performance during the dance scene as well as in the climax. Antony collected my number and congratulated me after the editing work was over. Antony, Gautham (film director Gautham Vasudev Menon), and cameraman Vishnu combined to make the scene so striking,” says Sushmita.

Noted dancer and actor Vineeth Radhakrishnan, who was a part of the cast, also praised Sushmita’s performance. “Even though he did not have combination scenes with me, we took part in promotions together. Vineeth told me that he was not aware that I danced so gracefully. His praise was priceless as he is an inspiration for people like me,” says Sushmita.
Describing her experiences while sharing the screen with Mammootty, who is the leading actor in ‘Dominic’, Sushmita says that she was more tense than happy. “While Mammootty is a person who has conquered a peak, I am a child who is yet to start the climb. Before shooting the combination scenes with Mammootty, I learned the dialogues with great effort and held discussions with the director. I was particular that I didn’t waste Mammootty’s time during the actual shoot,” she says.

“Initially, I was asked to speak my dialogues in Malayalam, but my pronunciation was not satisfactory. The director told me that we could dub in another person’s voice. Moreover, my voice has a little bass and it doesn’t sound like a typical female voice. However, Mammootty said that my voice was peculiar and would suit my character. He said that I could dub for the role. The filmmakers had prepared two plans for my role. Initially, it was planned that I would be a Malayalam-speaking woman. But in Plan B, I was to be a Malayali girl who speaks Tamil. With Mammootty’s support, they decided on Plan B. When I later watched the movie, I felt that this arrangement suited Nanditha’s character,” says Sushmita.

Women characters are presented beautifully in Gautham’s movies and Sushmita's character is no exception. “I met Gautam for the first time during the audition. He said that he wanted more expressive eyes and asked me to come up with better makeup for the eyes. In ‘Dominic’, Gautam has also strikingly presented my character. He has expertise in a range of aspects, from costume design to the skin tone of an artist,” says Sushmita.

She says that she will never abandon dance for cinema or vice-versa. “It is my wish to pursue both together. As an artist, I want to take up all sorts of characters. I do not wish to gain the image of a good-hearted leading lady or the girl next door. I love playing a psychopath, an anti-hero, or any experimental role,” she says.

Sushmita’s other dream is to learn contemporary dance and create performances by combining it with classical dance, which she already practices. “Actors such as Shobhana, Bhanupriya, and Vyjayanthimala, who entered films from dance, have always been my inspiration,” says Sushmita.

Speaking of her personal life, Sushmita says that her mother belongs to Chennai and her father to Udupi. “I was born in Chennai, raised in Udupi, and settled in Bengaluru. With this background, I have watched mostly Tamil and Kannada movies. But recently, I saw several Malayalam films, which are attracting nationwide attention. My favourite films include ‘Manjummel Boys’, ‘Aavesham’ and ‘Maheshinte Prathikaram.’ I want to learn Malayalam properly and act in more films in the language if I get the chance,” says Sushmita.