![\"Methil](\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/theme\/images\/th-online\/1x1_spacer.png\" "\\"Methil")
<\/picture><\/div>\nOn a warm Sunday night in the summer of 2016, the full house at the St. George Parish Hall in Kalady, near Kochi, was treated to a remarkable theatre production. The play Naga<\/i>, directed by Suveeran,\u00a0was an adaptation of Girish Karnad\u2019s Nagamandala.<\/i><\/p>\n
The surprise package of the night was the performance of Methil Devika in the lead female role. She belied her total lack of experience in acting with her stunning performance as a young wife.<\/p>\n
But those who have watched her perform Mohiniyattam would not have been too surprised. She is a gifted danseuse who excels in classical dance\u2019s every element, including acting. <\/p>\n
But acting beyond dancing was something Devika had not been keen about. She has been rejecting offers of major roles in Malayalam movies ever since she was 17. Some of them were from renowned directors and for films that went on to become big box office hits.<\/p>\n
She has no regrets. She is, however, finally making her debut in films with the Biju Menon starrer Kadha Innuvare<\/i>, which opens in cinemas on Friday. <\/p>\n
\u201cI liked the script and my role, so I decided to do the film,\u201d Devika tells The Hindu<\/i>. \u201cThe director Vishnu Mohan had been talking to me about the film for a year and a half and I felt it was something I could do.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says she didn\u2019t do films earlier because she was preoccupied with dance, not just as a performer, but as a choreographer and academician. \u201cI knew that I could not have done whatever I wanted to in dance if I had said yes to films earlier,\u201d she says. \u201cI could not have done a Phd or made films on dance. Besides, I didn\u2019t want to be a dancer from the fame one gets as a movie star.\u201d <\/p>\n
About Kadha Innuvare<\/i>, she says she enjoyed shooting and working with Biju. \u201cI have high regards for him as an actor, and thought he was excellent in films like Vellimoonga<\/i>,\u201d she says. \u201cAs for more films, I will do only if I find the roles appealing to me.\u201d <\/p>\n