Suchitra
Pillai
has
only
done
two
films
in
her
mother
tongue
Malayalam
till
now
but
she
hopes
the
upcoming
thriller
Cold
Case
acts
as
a
springboard
for
her
in
south
cinema.
The
50-year-old
actress
said
she
was
happy
when
Cold
Case
director
Tanu
Balak
told
her
that
she
was
his
first
and
only
choice
to
play
Zaara
Zakai,
a
clairvoyant
who
is
an
integral
part
of
solving
the
murder
mystery
in
the
film.
"Tanu
Balak
during
the
shoot
said
he
has
always
foreseen
me
doing
this
role,
which
is
great
for
any
actor
to
hear
that
you
are
not
just
a
replacement
for
anybody
else.
When
they
see
you
in
a
character,
it
means
you
can
be
believable
in
it.
The
film
is
in
Malayalam,
I
was
happy
to
get
back
to
my
Malayali
roots,"
the
Ernakulam-born
actor
told
PTI
in
an
interview
over
Zoom.
Billed
as
an
investigative
crime
thriller
with
supernatural
elements,
Cold
Case
also
stars
Prithviraj
Sukumaran,
Aditi
Balan,
Anil
Nedumangad,
and
Lakshmi
Priyaa
Chandramouli.
The
film
is
slated
to
be
released
on
Amazon
Prime
Video
on
June
30.
Besides
being
a
familiar
face
in
films,
television
and
theatre,
Pillai
is
also
a
singer
and
voice
artiste
who
has
done
the
dubbing
for
Maggie
Gyllenhaal
in
Christopher
Nolan's
The
Dark
Knight,
and
Cate
Blanchett
in
Marvel
Studios'
Thor:
Ragnarok
in
the
Hindi
versions
of
these
blockbusters.
When
it
came
to
Cold
Case,
she
wanted
to
do
her
own
dubbing
for
the
film
despite
not
being
very
fluent
in
Malayalam.
"I
don't
speak
pure
Malayalam
but
when
it
came
to
the
dubbing
of
the
film,
I
told
Tanu
'Please
don't
lose
Zaara
with
somebody
else.
Can
I
please
do
my
own
dubbing?'
I'm
so
happy
he
agreed,"
Pillai,
whose
credits
include
films
like
Dil
Chahta
Hai,
Page
3,
and
Fashion,
added.
She
worked
on
the
pronunciation
thanks
to
her
aunt
and
cousin.
"They
recorded
my
dialogues
and
I
would
listen
to
them
before
going
for
the
shoot." She
made
her
Malayalam
feature
debut
in
2016
with
Priyadarshan's
Oppam,
starring
Mohanlal,
saying
it
was
strange
how
she
hasn't
done
more
films
in
the
language.
The
actor,
who
hosted
the
1990s
Channel
V
show
Simply
South,
said
she
always
wanted
to
work
in
the
Malayalam
cinema.
"My
show
on
Channel
V
was
called
Simply
South,
so
the
connection
has
always
been
there.
But
I
don't
know
why
they
put
me
in
the
VJ
(video
jockey)
bracket
in
the
'90s
or
after
that
they
said
'oh
she's
a
Bollywood
person'.
"I
hope
this
one
(Cold
Case)
is
going
to
be
a
springboard
for
me
because
people
will
see
that
I
am
believable
whether
it's
speaking
the
language
or
playing
a
character
in
a
movie
like
this,"
she
added.
She
may
be
a
multi-hyphenate,
but
singing
is
her
core.
"You
will
see
me
in
a
different
avatar
when
I'm
with
my
band.
That's
another
part
of
me.
I
love
my
job
as
an
actor.
I
don't
have
any
qualms
in
waking
up
for
a
5
am
shoot
or
working
round-the-clock," Pillai,
who
is
also
looking
forward
to
the
release
of
her
English
rock
album,
said.
As
someone
who
has
been
part
of
the
entertainment
industry
right
from
the
advent
of
television
to
the
OTT
(over-the-top)
platforms
in
India,
the
actor
said
digital
media
is
the
best
bet
for
artistes
today.
"Over
the
last
year,
I've
been
very
lucky
that
I've
had
releases
on
the
OTT
and
it
has
given
all
us
actors
a
new
lease
of
life.
We're
not
worried
as
such
anymore
about
where
the
next
job
is
coming
from.
"A
lot
of
work
has
come
up
and
that
too
quality
work.
It
has
made
the
world
so
much
smaller.
People
used
to
say
music
is
the
universal
language,
now
entertainment
is
the
universal
language
thanks
to
OTT,"
Pillai,
who
has
starred
in
series
like
Netflix's
Betaal
and
Hello
Mini
3
on
MX
Player,
added.
After
Cold
Case,
there
is
more
to
come
for
the
actor
on
Amazon,
including
the
second
season
of
the
acclaimed
series
Made
in
Heaven.
"There
is
Made
in
Heaven
2,
I
will
start
shooting
for
that
soon.
There
is
another
Amazon
project
as
well,"
she
said.