Remember Shamlee (or baby Shamili as she was popularly called), the little girl from Mani Ratnam’s national award-winning 1990 Tamil film Anjali? As a child actor, she starred in over 50 films such as Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari, Killer and Malootty across all the southern languages through the 90s. She talks to us about her return to arc lights with two Tamil projects in lead roles.
Q: You were a successful child actor. Why didn’t you continue acting?
Shamlee: I was never really interesting in acting as a child. I mean, I was too young to even realize what I was doing. I used to be so bored on sets and I missed playing with kids of my age.
I was about 10, when I did my last film as a child actor. After that, I got busy with school and where I studied, the management didn’t allow children to act or take up modelling after a certain age.
Q: Did the thought of becoming an actress cross your mind while you were in school?
Shamlee: School kept me so busy that I never had the time to think about other things. I’ve been getting offers to act from the time I was in class nine, but I was focused on my education as I really felt it’s important.
I didn’t want to become an actress and then regret not having done what I always wanted to do. It was essential that I finished my education as I believed it’s not easy to study later in life.
Q: You debuted as lead heroine in 2009 with the Telugu film Oy, but you didn’t continue acting, even though you had completed your education by then.
Shamlee: I did Oy right after my under graduation. But I had always planned to do my Masters; and since I was planning to get into films, I decided to get myself groomed before taking the plunge. I did my Masters in film studies from Singapore. The course came very handy and enabled me to understand various crafts of cinema from close quarters. People keep asking me if the course was necessary when most actors nowadays don’t feel the need to do it. I did the course for personal reasons; for better understanding of cinema as a medium.
Q: Are you still recognized as the little girl from Anjali or as the sister-in-law of Ajith, the popular star of Tamil cinema?
Shamlee: It is funny people still haven’t forgotten Anjali even after so many years. Somehow I feel I’m still tied to the movie.
Even when I was studying in Singapore; people would come and ask me if I’m the Anjali girl. I think it has become my calling card. I’m sure even for the next few years until I make my own mark, I’m sure I’ll still be referred to as the Anjali girl. Being Shalini’s sister and Ajith’s sister-in-law is definitely a blessing, but I’ll be judged based on my own work.
Q: But you’ve already signed two Tamil projects and there’s a Malayalam film in the offing. It looks like you’re speeding things up…
Shamlee: I signed Veera Sivaji with Vikram Prabhu first and it has already gone on the floors. I also signed Dhanush’s film because I only start working on it next year. So I have enough time in between to complete my first film and even take a short break if I need. There’s also a Malayalam project in the pipeline, but I haven’t signed it yet.
In the last four months, offers have been pouring in but only these two materialised, so I decided to go ahead with them. Right now, my focus is on Tamil cinema as I’m very comfortable with the language. If there’s an interesting project in other language, I may reconsider my options.
Q: With three actors (brother, sister and brother-in-law) in your family, whom do you discuss your decisions with since you’re a newcomer in the industry?
Shamlee: As much as possible, I make my own decisions. But the person I consult a lot with is my sister; she’s someone with whom I can share anything. I also ask my best friends. It’s important that I don’t rely on their decision much because eventually I should feel good about doing a project and not care about what others would say.
Q: How much of influence will your sister Shalini’s career choices have on your career?
Shamlee: I’ve always looked up to my sister for her roles, which were mostly dignified and rarely glamorous. Even opposite stars, she landed roles with lot of scope for performance. This is something I’ll keep in mind when I sign films. I don’t see myself cut out for rural characters and I feel I’m more comfortable essaying a contemporary, urban girl.
Q: Do you have a list of actors and directors you’d like to work with?
Shamlee: I’d love to work with Shah Rukh Khan; I’ve been his fan since class four. It’s been my childhood dream to work with him (laughs). Jokes apart, I really don’t have a wish list of actors and directors I look forward to work with. I want to be part of interesting projects and in the process if I get to work with stars, I really don’t mind.
(Karthik Kumar is an independent film critic and journalist. He actively follows and writes on popular South Indian cinema and covers independent films too.)
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