A rising talent

Down south

She is one of the few multi-lingual actors who command a following not just for their performances in films, but also for their musical prowess. Remya Nambeesan, who first faced the arclights as a child artiste in the Malayalam film Sayanam, and later graduated to lead roles, is equally at home belting out super-hit songs.

Having recently won critical acclaim for her portrayal as a cop’s wife in Vijay Sethupathy-starrer Sethupathy, the actor has certainly grabbed the limelight. It was a complex role, where Remya could convey a whole gamut of emotions. She played a mother of 2 children in the film, and this hardly stopped her from signing the film, as she does not subscribe to the theory that a young heroine should have a set image.

The big break
Remya started out playing nondescript roles in Malayalam films, but she was noticed in Rajesh Pillai’s thriller Traffic and in Chappa Kurishu. Keen to make her mark in Malayalam films, Remya erred in accepting films including Aanachandam, Changathipoocha and Panthaya Kozhi, which not only crashed at the box office, but also offered her little scope to display her talent. It was the Shafi-directed Chocolate that brought her out of the rut and put her career back on track. Remya played one of the 3 leading ladies in the film, but found enough elbow room to do justice to her role. While she donned the role of a stylish adulteress in the multi-starrer Traffic, her performance in Chappa Kurishu was the one that got her the much-needed attention. However, the film also courted controversy for a lengthy lip-lock scene, featuring Remya and Fahad Fazil, the first of its kind in Malayalam cinema.

Remya later went on to act in Bachelor Party, Ivan Megharoopan, Husbands in Goa, Oru Yathrayil and Jalebi. She also starred in a short film Bhoomikkoru Charamageetham, which was an ode to nature, penned by the late poet laureate O N V Kurup. In most of her films, Remya has been paired with the new crop of young stars, and is yet to strike big in the industry, which has shown better regard for her singing abilities.

Malayalam stars continue to be in high demand in Kollywood, Tollywood and Sandalwood, and Remya too has found opportunity to work in other languages, though she rarely dubs her own lines. She was cast in Karthik Subbaraj’s debut film Pizza and later in films like Raman Thediya Seethai, Ilaignan, Aattanayagann and Kullanari Koottam, but had to wait for Sethupathy to really prove her mettle. Remya made her debut in Telugu cinema in 2008 with the film Andamaina Manasulo, and followed it up with Saarai Veerraju and Nuvvila. The actor has debuted in Sandalwood as well with Golden Star Ganesh’s Style King.

Crooning glory
Despite her love for acting, Remya remains passionate about her singing career. It was the song “Ande londe” in the Sharath-directed Ivan Megharoopan that marked her out as a singer of merit. Other numbers that provided her singing career a fillip included the popular number “Muthuchippi Pole Oru Pennu” from the film Thattathin Marayathu. The noteworthy fact is that in this film and in Amen, Remya had no role and the composers still chose her to render the tracks. In Mollywood, she has worked with all the popular composers including Sharath, Jayachandran, Gopi Sunder, Shaan Rahman and Imaan. Her Tamil and Telugu numbers have also been well-received. Remya has gone on to release a number of devotional music CDs, and has also resolved to pick up the other languages so that she can dub for her roles. Her positive outlook and confidence in her capabilities are certain to stand her in good stead in furthering her career.