'We're competitors only on the field'

Actress Lissy Priyadarshan, who was all over the TV and big screen in the 1980s, says she never been happier. She has her hands full as the co-owner of Kerala Strikers of Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) and running the family business with her director-husband Priyadarshan.

Lissy is just as nervous as she is excited when she talks about her team ‘Kerala Strikers’ performance during the CCL. “The Kerala team is getting stronger with every new season of the CCL. I always ask the boys to work together as a team. I impress upon the players that there’s no room for any division,” says Lissy. 

She points out that the CCL has given the artistes from different film industries an opportunity to break the ice. “We never knew that there were so many actors in the Bengali film industry, for instance. We’re competitors only on the cricket field, off it, we’re as close and friendly as we can be,” she says. “We play and party just as hard,” she adds.

What is the one big thing Lissy has learnt being a part of the cinema industry? “Nothing lasts forever, neither joy, sadness or even fame. Never let success get to your head,” she says.

Lissy has a close circle of friends in Sandalwood as well. “I never get enough time to catch up with my friends in the Kannada film industry. But we get to meet at our annual get togethers and call each other all the time,” she notes.  

Being Priyadarshan’s wife, Lissy doesn’t intend to get into production or direction. She points out that she has never felt obligated to do anything unless she has a passion for it. “I don’t feel stifled and I have the freedom to do what I want. I don’t feel restricted in any way,” she smiles. 

Would she return to the big screen? “I don’t feel the urge to get back into active cinema but I am associated with it in some way or the other,” she signs off.