'It's time people took me seriously'

Teenage girls want to be like her, men see an ideal wife in her and mothers want her to be their daughter-in-law. Amoolya, who shot to fame with her lively and energetic performance in Cheluvina Chittara, says that she has entered the second phase of her career with Premism.

Amoolya is always known for her bubbly and young roles but Premism saw her in a more mature avatar and gave her the ‘grown up vibe’ that one longed to see. Just when one thought that the transition maybe a risky one for her on screen persona, Amoolya says that it was a transformation she was looking forward to.

“It was a drastic change and I owe it all to my director, Ratnaja. He made it so easy for me that I knew that my fans too would love me in the new look,” she says. “There was a time when people used to say that I looked like a school girl, now I feel it’s time people took me more seriously.”

With no regrets, Amoolya says that so far all the decisions she has made have been the right choice and at the right time. “I guess I was lucky that way. And now with the success of Premism, I will work for the better,” she adds.

Having entered films at a young age, Amoolya may not have been spared from being bitten by the controversy bug but her diplomacy has helped her get out of it. Be it when her picture was used on a matrimonial site without her permission or when she got Ramya’s role in Prakash Rai’s Naanu Nanna Kanasu. “I had nothing to do with it. Ramya and I share a good relationship and this has not affected anything between us,” she says cordially.

With the shoot complete, Amoolya says she has learnt a lot under Prakash Rai. “He has been a wonderful director and made me feel at ease. I have learnt a lot under his guidance and people can expect much more from the film,” says Amoolya, who plays the role of Prakash Rai’s daughter Kanasu in the film.

Even though Trisha had played this character in the original film, Amoolya says that she brought in her own shades to the character. “There are many things that have changed in this film. It’s not an exact remake of Abhiyum Nanum,” she says.

Kanasu, she says, is a role that every daughter can relate to. An emotionally touching drama, Amoolya says that though she is not like her character in real life, there were moments when she felt it was her real life. “The movie really makes you think.There were some scenes that were so emotional that I felt all those things were really happening to me. I felt that there will be a time when I may face the same things that my character did,” she says. Playing mature roles can at times be emotionally draining for Amoolya but at the end of the day, she connects to her real self when she heads back to her classes at Mount Carmel College. She’s keeping studies on top of her list but has not yet thought about the future. “Education has always been a priority for me and my family. I know I will finish my degree. Apart from that, I don’t know what the future will hold for me,” she says.