{"id":12450,"date":"2024-08-21T14:32:04","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T14:32:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/khabarok.com\/entertainment\/12450\/"},"modified":"2024-08-21T14:32:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T14:32:04","slug":"anna-ben-on-kottukkaali-transcending-boundaries-and-making-dream-debuts-in-tamil-and-telugu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/khabarok.com\/?p=12450","title":{"rendered":"Anna Ben on \u2018Kottukkaali\u2019, transcending boundaries and making dream debuts in Tamil and Telugu"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n
\"Anna<\/picture><\/div>\n

\nAnna Ben in a still from \u2018Kottukkaali\u2019
\n| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

One of the best takeaways from the pan-Indian film trend is the trading of talents between industries and the latest to cross borders and make her Tamil debut is Malayalam actor Anna Ben, known for films like Kumbalangi Nights<\/i>, Helen<\/i> and Kappela<\/i>. While she recently made her Telugu debut with Kalki 2898 AD<\/i>, she has opted for Koozhangal<\/i>director PS Vinothraj\u2019s sophomore outingKottukkaali, in <\/i>Tamil.\u201cMore than the language, it was culturally different from me,\u201d says Anna who connected with us on a call from Ireland. \u201cEnnaku Tamil pesa mudiyum…<\/i> so communicating was not an issue. But I needed more homework to figure out the cultural differences, and that\u2019s what attracted me to the project as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

It was Vinoth who helped her prepare for the role. \u201cHe gave me the confidence and it was an exciting project from the get-go. It\u2019s a powerful film and nothing would have stopped me from doing it,\u201d says Anna who plays a character with minimal lines but a myriad of emotions. \u201cMeena (her character in the film) has so many layers and much history with the entire family. All of it is very nuanced and my challenge was to communicate it without being dramatic. There was a lot of back and forth with the director on how to play a certain emotion and conveying it. I had a lot of homework to do on her backstory, including her childhood and the rebellion she had in her past.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\"(L-R)<\/div>\n

\n(L-R) Director PS Vinothraj and Anna Ben
\n| Photo Credit:
\nSpecial Arrangement\n<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The film starts right in the thick of action introducing Meena and her extended family. \u201cThe film does not have a general introduction to the incident that\u2019s at the centre of it all. The viewers are made to assume there have been multiple quarrels regarding the matter, and that she would have already spoken a lot before the point where the film kicks off; she\u2019s at a space where she has done it all and now her silence is all that she\u2019s got to show her rebellion,\u201d says Anna on how the contrast of her character from the others, gave her the space to play with it. \u201cThe louder everybody gets, the quieter and stronger she becomes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Despite headlining films like Helen<\/i>and Sara\u2019s<\/i>, Anna is quick to dismiss that she is not deliberately picking up films which feature her as the central character. \u201cHelen <\/i>started it all; it helped me gain confidence on how to carry a character. The production and director Mathu chettan<\/i>(Mathukutty Xavier) took such a risk considering it was just my second film, and gave me the opportunity and courage. That worked out after Helen<\/i> and people felt I could take up such characters. More than being the titular character or female-centric films, these films end up true to the story and that\u2019s what drew me to them,\u201d says Anna who feels Kottukkaali <\/i>is an extension to that list. \u201cPeople might wonder why one might take up a quiet character with a nothing-to-do attitude but there\u2019s so much of essence in it with a lot of material to work with. It\u2019s also unlike what I\u2019ve done before, so I can\u2019t compare Kottukkaali <\/i>with my previous films.\u201d (smiles<\/i>)<\/p>\n

\n
\"(L-R)<\/div>\n

\n(L-R) Director PS Vinothraj and Anna Ben
\n| Photo Credit:
\nSpecial Arrangement\n<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Though she has just one bit of dialogue in the film, Anna calls the \u201cfight scene\u201d in the film as the most challenging aspect of Kottukkaali. <\/i>\u201cIn terms of physicality, there was a lot of strain put on each one of us. Then there was the balancing of the camera, the sound, the timing and also making sure no one gets really hurt. Getting the coordination on point was difficult and we had to do it multiple times as it was a long shot. Personally, challenges also included the detailed, small shots where I had to hold the emotion and convey something without dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kottukkaali <\/i>had a dream run on the festive circuit and Anna attended the premieres at the Berlinale and Transilvania International film festivals. \u201cInitially, I was nervous to see people who are so distant from our culture and I was unsure how they could connect with a rooted film like Kottukkaali<\/i>. But they connected so well that they asked detailed questions about it which surprised all of us. The feedback we got was amazing and it gave us more confidence to present it to our people.\u201d <\/p>\n

When pointed out that what she has been doing is working out well for her, Anna smiles and says, \u201cStories are what matter to me the most and I\u2019ve stuck on to it from right after Kumbalangi Nights<\/i>, irrespective of the genre or whether they belonged to the indie space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking about stories from both the film industries, she says, \u201cTamil cinema has always had great stories and on the other hand, there are a lot of eyes on the Malayalam industry recently. But I always felt both industries have been hand-in-hand with great stories. In Malayalam, scripts have always been our strength as we are comparatively a smaller industry with limitations. We always had great writers and it helped us gain visibility. I\u2019ve also seen Tamil cinema coming up with fantastic stories; I recently caught Kaaka Muttai <\/i>and was blown away by it. When those like Sivakarthikeyan sir are backing films like Kottukkaali<\/i>, it gives confidence to more makers to come up with such films.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On making both her Telugu and Tamil debuts this year, Anna says, \u201cAs an actor, you want to expand and try different things without the language barrier. I\u2019m sure my colleagues will also want to do great films with creative minds across industries. It was always something I wanted to do, but I wasn\u2019t calculative on how to do it. I did get a few enquiries in Tamil much before Kappela<\/i> and after Helen. <\/i>Even in Telugu, though not much, I still heard a few stories but they didn\u2019t work out. Looks like everything is written in your stars and things align! I couldn\u2019t have asked for better beginnings in both the industries and I\u2019m glad things worked out the way they did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kottukkaali is releasing in theatres on August 23, 2024<\/i><\/p>\n

\n