'He Has Never Done So Many Retakes': Vismaya Mohanlal On Working With Father Mohanlal In Thudakkam

The daughter of legendary Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, Vismaya Mohanlal, and the son of well-known producer Antony Perumbavoor, Ashish, made their debut together in director Jude Anthany Joseph's Thudakkam. Vismaya and Ashish have received praise for their performances in the film and are happy with its success. Both actors say this movie was a good learning experience as well and realise how hard it is to make a film. In this exclusive chat with NDTV, Vismaya Mohanlal and Ashish Antony open up about their film debut, getting trolled and more.

When she decided she wanted to make her acting debut, Vismaya Mohanlal told her mother, Suchitra, and brother, Pranav, first. "My brother and my mother knew first, and then my mother told my father. I think they always knew since I was into theatre and acting, but trying this out professionally might have been a surprise. But I've always been into performance and anything artistic," explains Vismaya, who finally made her debut in her 30s. "I would actually have liked to have debuted earlier-I think fear held me back. It was just fear of failure and fear in general of starting something new."

As for Ashish Antony, he never had any intention of becoming an actor and was busy working with his father in their production company. "I had no interest in acting, to be very honest. I was more interested in direction and probably would have taken that route. The major reason I did this film was because Vismaya was in it and it was her movie. We've known each other since we were kids, but we hadn't really spent much time together. Thudakkam gave us the opportunity to spend more time together, talk and get to know each other. That comfort was very important, and we had each other's backs. We used to give each other feedback, which really helped us perform our best. The atmosphere on set and the entire team was amazing," he smiles.

Vismaya is thankful that she found a great role to make her Malayalam cinema entry in and says it was the best start she could hope for. She adds, "Getting a role like this as my first film was the biggest blessing, especially this particular character. One of my biggest worries when I got to the set was, 'What if I don't fit in?' But everyone made me feel so comfortable. It was like coming home. Everyone was very chilled out and patient. Having each other as support was great, and our families were around too."

The pressure of being Mohanlal's daughter and having to prove herself was one of her foremost thoughts, but Vismaya learnt how to set it aside and only focus on the present. What was the experience of working with her father like in her first film? "It was really cool. I was super excited, but when I got to the set, I was quite nervous because I suddenly got it into my head that I had to be good and get everything right. Once you get into your head like that, it becomes harder to actually do what you're supposed to do. It took a lot of takes. I don't think my dad has ever done that many takes in his life! But looking back, it was all part of the experience," laughs Vismaya.

Interestingly, Ashish Antony chose to debut in a negative role rather than as a hero in his first film. "The story was really good when I first heard it, and I thought the character of Jithu had a lot of shades. He was challenging to portray. My father, Mohanlal sir, Suchitra aunty and Jude all believed that I could pull it off, and that gave me confidence. Having Vismaya alongside me also helped push me. What really attracted me to the character was that he didn't have any dialogues, and that struck me as something I should try. A lot of actors want to start as heroes, but I thought I'd try something different," says the actor.

Ask Vismaya, who's a Muay Thai specialist, what the toughest scene for her in Thudakkam was, and she replies, "There were a few, mostly activity-based scenes, where I had to do very specific things, like putting a cassette into the recorder. There were also moments involving the language where I wasn't getting a word right. But I think the scene with my dad took the most takes. Everyone was incredibly patient with me, which I'm very grateful for. My favourite part of the film was the action sequences. It's different because you don't use your full force; it's almost like a dance. I loved learning all the choreography and working with Yannick Ben and Silva master. I'm open to doing a full-fledged action film and even playing a villain!"

Both Ashish and Vismaya are appreciative of how much hard work goes into making a movie and are all praise for Mohanlal, given that he has made more than 350 films. Ashish gushes, "I feel like Mohanlal sir is busy 24/7. He has done so many movies, and now we finally understand how much hard work he puts into every one of them. It's amazing to see."

With Gen Z now taking centre stage in many ways, is the younger generation very different from the earlier ones? Vismaya says ponderingly, "I think every generation is shaped by the way it gets information. Gen Z, for example, is much more connected to their phones and much more exposed to information. When we were growing up, we didn't have our phones with us all the time. So, there's definitely a difference in terms of awareness and exposure."

Ashish adds, "I think every generation has a gap. Our parents are from a different generation, and when people younger than us grow up, they'll probably feel the same way about us. When they come of age, there will be new things that we might find different or difficult to understand. So, there will always be a generational gap as we move forward."

Vismaya and Ashish agree that social media today is an important source of information and communication. "Definitely. It brings more awareness. For example, therapy was considered quite taboo in our parents' generation. It was almost as though if you went to therapy, people would think there was something wrong with your mind. Now, it's much more normalised, and I think everyone should do therapy. It's a great thing. So, there are definitely shifts between generations," she explains.

However, one thing they will both have to learn to deal with now is trolling, which is an inevitable part of being a celebrity in the age of social media. How will they deal with it? Ashish is quick to answer, saying, "I've been working in the industry and in our production house for some time, so I've been seeing all this. It's part of the job. Initially, I used to take it personally, especially when I saw things about Mohanlal sir or my father. Eventually, I got used to it and understood that if you're in this industry, this is also part of it. Once you overcome that, it doesn't really bother you. Constructive criticism is always welcome, and we also know how to differentiate between criticism and hate comments. As long as it doesn't bother you, it's okay."

Vismaya, on the other hand, recounts how she got trolled recently over a video of hers at an event. "Recently, I got trolled quite a bit over a video of me on stage. I move around a lot when I'm nervous, and I kind of glitch. But that day, I actually faced one of my biggest fears-getting on stage and talking to people I didn't know. These people on social media don't know me; they only know that five-second clip they saw. So, I don't read the comments because I know they will affect me. But, as my dad told me, it's part of the profession. He gets trolled a lot too. Not everyone is going to like you, and that's okay. We don't need to be liked by everyone. It's not normal to be liked by everyone," she says philosophically.

As Vismaya and Ashish sign off, Vismaya has a last word about Thudakkam, saying, "The message of the movie is great. If it inspires people, especially women, to learn martial arts, that's wonderful. In fact, a lot of people have come out of theatres saying they want to send their children to martial arts classes."