Malavika Mohanan is celebrating Onam at her hometown in Payyannur, with family and friends, while basking in the success of Hridayapoorvam. However, for her, as much as being part of the film was special, it was the fact that she was working with two people whose films she had watched growing up — actor Mohanlal and director Sathyan Anthikad — that made the project even more close to her heart. She calls the experience of Hridayapoorvam “overwhelming.”
Of course, her excitement is mainly because she shared the screen with Mohanlal. “Though I have worked in popular films with big actors before, the difference is that I am a girl who has grown up in a different place. I grew up consuming Hindi films because I was in Mumbai. I watched Malayalam films because of my parents [who are Malayalis]. I did not grow up watching Telugu or Tamil films. So, even though [in these languages] you know how big these actors might be, it is not like Mohanlal, whose films you have watched growing up. That Mohanlal was in front of me, making me feel surreal!” Though she thought that the feeling would be gone in a couple of days, she confesses it never left her.
For context, Malavika has acted with Mammootty (The Great Father), Rajinikanth, Vijay Sethupathi (Vetta), Vijay (Master), Dhanush (Maaran), and Vikram (Thangalan).
That look of wonder or awe worked in Malavika’s favour during the shoot of Hridayapoorvam because Mohanlal’s character, Sandeep Balakrishnan, is the recipient of her character, Haritha’s, father’s heart. “It goes with character,” she agrees, laughing.
She talks about the first scene in the film, in which Haritha meets Sandeep to invite him to her engagement. “So, that was the first day of my shoot — there was some awkwardness and unfamiliarity. And my last scene was the last day of filming. I see him off at the airport. So, there was a level of familiarity; it was a pretty clever way to shoot!
What added to the experience for Malavika was getting to see first-hand the legendary pair of Sathyan Anthikad and Mohanlal at work, especially their camaraderie as a duo. “It was quite something to watch them — two artists who have collaborated in over 22-24 films together. They have practically grown up together. Today, directors don’t even make 22 films in their entire careers.”
Reminiscing about how she landed the role, Malavika says when she got the call from Akhil Sathyan, she thought it was for a film he might be directing, since both of Sathyan Anthikad’s sons are filmmakers. “That is when he told me it was for a film his father was making. Everything happened very quickly. Akhil told me that his father would call me, and within five minutes, I got the call.” Malavika was filming in Hyderabad at the time.
A problem she foresaw was her lack of proficiency in Malayalam. “I told Sathyan Sir that I spoke the Payannur dialect. He told me not to worry because the character lived in Pune; she was born and brought up there. Actors are expected to learn and do the job, but here was someone who was making a change for the artist.”
Malavika with Mohanlal in ‘Hridayapoorvam’.
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Special Arrangement
There is a mention in the film of Haritha’s father hailing from Payannur. It also showed her how much they wanted her to be part of the film. Praising the Hridayapoorvam team, she calls it “an A-level team”.
The actor, who made her Malayalam debut opposite Dulquer Salmaan in Pattam Pole (2013), calls herself a late bloomer in the Malayalam film industry. She clarifies that it was not a deliberate decision (to do fewer Malayalam movies), and things just played out that way. Malavika was in college when she got chosen for Pattam Pole.
Even if that film — directed by cinematographer N Alagappan — did not do well in theatres, it has found love from the audience over the years. She laughs, saying, “The number of Malayalis who have watched that film over the last few years is crazy!”
“Some films don’t do well in theatres but later go on to be popular, so much so that people watch them repeatedly. Pattam Pole is one such movie. Even now, the actors I have worked with, such as Sangeeth (Pratap) and Mathew (Thomas), have told me they loved Pattam Pole. And I am like ‘wish I had known then’.” Sangeeth acted with her in Hridayapoorvam, and Mathew was her co-star in the 2023 film Christy.
When Pattam Pole happened, she was studying advertising. Malavika was planning to get into filmmaking as she was assisting ad filmmakers. Soon, she started getting film offers. “In your early 20s, you don’t know which direction you want to take, and I was not somebody who set out to be an actor. It took me a while to decide.” She starred in a couple of Malayalam films, after which she landed Majid Majidi’s Beyond the Clouds, which completely changed the trajectory of her career, resulting in offers from the Tamil industry.
This year, she makes her Telugu debut in TheRaja Saab opposite Prabhas. She had been getting offers in Telugu, but she took her time choosing her film and co-star, says Malavika. Although she was in talks for another Telugu film with Prabhas, that did not pan out, “and then a couple of months later, I got the call for The Raja Saab. I liked the character and the story!”
Malavika is on a roll. Apart from TheRaja Saab, which is set for release later this year, her Tamil film, Sardar 2, with Karthi, is also ready for release. “I have been working on these films for a while. It is just that the releases are happening back-to-back,” she signs off.
Published – September 06, 2025 08:24 pm IST
