Exclusive Interview: Nithya Menen On Favourite Role And Her Bollywood Dreams (Watch Video)
FilmiBeat caught up with Nithya Menen for an exclusive chat, in which she spoke about IFFI 2019, her favourite film at the festival, her stint in Bollywood, her acting process, and more.
Nithya
Menen
is
quite
a
familiar
name
now
for
Bollywood
audiences,
too.
After
enjoying
success
in
south
Indian
films,
Nithya
made
a
grand
debut
in
Bollywood
with
Mission
Mangal.
She
is
an
actress
with
an
amazing
sense
of
finding
good
scripts
and
is
pretty
choosy
about
the
projects
she
commits
to.
The
Ustad
Hotel
actress
was
present
at
the
recently
held
50th
International
Film
Festival
of
India
(IFFI)
2019,
where
her
film
Kolambi
was
screened.
She
had
taken
part
in
an
interactive
session
as
well
along
with
Kannada
actress
Rashmika
Mandanna.
After
the
event,
Filmibeat
Managing
Editor
Shweta
Parande
caught
up
with
Nithya
Menen
for
an
exclusive
chat,
in
which
the
actress
spoke
about
IFFI
2019,
her
favourite
film
at
the
festival,
her
stint
in
Bollywood,
her
acting
process
and
more.
Excerpts
from
the
chat...
How
was
the
session
that
you
attended
at
IFFI
2019?
The
session
was
great
and
I
think
it
went
really
well.
Baradwaj
Rangan
(moderator)
took
the
whole
session
in
a
really
nice
direction.
We
had
a
really
productive
chat.
Is
this
the
first
time
you
are
at
a
film
festival
or
IFFI?
Yes,
this
is
the
first
time
at
a
film
festival
and
also
the
first
time
at
IFFI.
I
have
never
attended
something
like
this
before
or
wanted
to
watch
films.
But
this
time,
I
really
wanted
to
and
I
have
enjoyed
watching
a
couple
of
films.
Which
all
films
did
you
watch
at
IFFI
2019?
The
day
I
landed
here,
I
watched
two
films.
The
first
one
was
the
Belgian
movie,
Cleo
and
the
other
one
was
the
Iranian
movie,
It
Must
Be
Heaven,
a
fabulous
movie
which
I
really
loved.
You
wanted
to
pursue
cinematography
at
the
FTII
(Film
and
Television
Institute
of
India).
Did
that
happen?
I
had
applied
for
the
course
but
couldn't
write
the
entrance
exam.
Back
then,
I
was
committed
to
a
movie,
which
was
supposed
to
be
shot
in
two
months
but
it
took
a
year
to
get
completed.
Hence,
my
plans
to
go
to
the
film
school
was
kind
of
cut
short.
You
have
done
journalism
as
well.
So
do
you
enjoy
the
process
of
acting
and
filmmaking
more
than
journalism?
I
have
only
studied
journalism
but
I
have
not
worked
as
a
journalist.
Can
you
tell
us
something
about
your
sense
of
style
and
fashion
and
how
do
you
choose
your
clothes
off
screen,
especially
for
events?
How
much
thought
do
you
put
into
these
aspects?
I
think
about
my
fashion
sense
when
I
have
to
make
public
appearances
or
if
it
is
a
part
of
my
job,
I
would
or
else
I
seldom
think
about
it.
How
is
your
process
of
acting?
Does
it
differ
according
to
the
language
in
which
you
are
working?
Not
at
all.
The
process
cannot
be
different
because
of
the
languages
as
it
is
a
very
small
factor
and
it
doesn't
matter
to
me
at
all.
I
approach
every
film
in
the
same
way.
My
process
of
acting
is
spontaneous
and
I
go
with
the
character
offered
to
me.
I
can
speak
all
the
languages
fluently
and
it
has
never
been
a
concern
for
me.
Is
there
any
favourite
among
the
roles
that
you
have
done
so
far?
I
tried
to
avoid
that
question
at
the
session.
I
definitely
liked
the
character
that
I
portrayed
in
OK
Kanmani.
Bangalore
Days
is
one
of
the
favourites
of
many.
Do
you
have
any
fond
memories
about
that
film?
Of
course.
Initially,
Anjali
Menon
(director)
wanted
to
me
to
play
the
female
lead
but
I
couldn't
due
to
my
busy
schedule.
So
finally,
she
asked
me,
'Will
you
do
at
least
this
character?
It
will
only
take
a
couple
of
days
and
it
is
in
Bangalore
and
would
be
like
at
home.
Please
do
it'.
I
was
really
happy
and
immediately
said
yes.
I
love
shooting
in
Bangalore
since
my
house
is
located
there
and
I
could
go
for
the
shoot
from
my
home,
which
happens
very
rarely.
How
was
your
experience
in
Bollywood
and
please
let
us
know
about
your
future
projects
as
well?
I
am
always
open
to
do
movies
in
any
language
as
long
as
the
subject
is
good.
There
are
some
amazing
directors
in
Bollywood
and
they
make
some
really
good
films
out
there.
I
really
hope
that
I
could
express
myself
well
through
films
in
Bollywood.
If
projects
that
match
my
sensibilities
come
along,
I
would
like
to
work
with
such
directors.
Any
particular
director
that
you
would
want
to
work
with?
I
don't
have
any
particular
name
in
mind.
When
I
watch
some
of
the
movies,
I
feel
as
if
I
want
to
do
a
film
like
this.
So,
there
are
people
and
films
like
that.
But
I
can't
think
about
any
particular
name
as
such.
I
just
want
to
do
good
movies.