'No one has played Amman like Ramya Krishnan did'

The team of Tamil TV show Amman is delighted as the devotional drama that premiered last year has crossed 800 episodes. Amaljith says that the reception has been overwhelming. “People have accepted the show and have made us a household name. At a time when theatres were shut down, we were able to provide a solid and meaningful entertainer to the audience,” he adds. Pavithra recalls how they shot for it in locations around Chennai that would be new to the audience. “We shot for Amman in several locations in and around Chennai. We shot in some of the forests in the outskirts of the city. The team went all out and did not compromise a bit on production quality. In fact, the scale on which TV shows are being made is only getting better,” says the actress. 

According to Pavithra, the support of the audience has been tremendous as more episodes rolled out on Colors Tamil. “Initially, I didn’t know that Amman would go on to become one of the most popular shows on television. The first few episodes were going smooth, and things were normal. As days went by, the acceptance started growing vertically. Amal and I get messages from fans in Malaysia and Singapore,” she opens up. Serials, unlike films, require artistes to stay in the skin of the character for years together. “Having done characters with negative shades previously, I couldn’t get into playing Shakthi’s character for the first few days. Subsequently, I started getting used to the role and I could easily start emoting,” says Pavithra. For Amal it was a different challenge. “I come from Kerala and language was a huge barrier for me when we started shooting for this. We shot in villages where people hardly understood English. But now, I am proficient in Tamil and things are much easier,” he adds. 

On prepping for the role, Pavithra says that it was Ramya Krishnan she looked up to in going about the role. “To all those who grew up in the 90s, Ramya Krishnan ma’am is the ultimate Amman. I watched her videos and the way she had pulled it off inspired me. I was originally cast in another role in this series. But when the director told me that I would be playing Amman, she was the best reference I could go to,” concludes the actress.