I have chosen to be kind and be a happier person: Aishwarya Lekshmi

CHENNAI: Aishwarya Lekshmi talks to us in the middle of her busy shooting schedules in Pollachi for a Tamil web series. But for Tiruvonam day, she has different plans, “I will be driving down from Pollachi to home this year to be with family for Onam.

Post the Covid pandemic, I have been at home for all Onam since 2020. Before that I had a couple of Onam week releases-- Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela in 2017 and Varathan in 2018. So, I had to be there for the shows. But for the last four years, I haven’t missed any,” she says with a tone of excitement.

Quality family time and good food are things that sum up Aishwarya’s typical Onam day. “We are a small family of four. It’s me, my mum, dad and our pet Bruno. The day starts with temple visits in the mornings. And then we order food from outside and have our chit chats. Also, Bruno too wears a traditional Onam dress that I made for him. It is about having good times and making good memories with the family,” she remarks.

Upon asking about her favourite memory, Aishwarya has a huge smile on her face and after a pause, she says, “None of the celebrations that would come across like my favourite Onam memory. Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela released on September 1 in Kerala and the Chennai press show was on the Tiruvonam day. While my co-stars couldn’t make it because of the festival, I was in Chennai on behalf of the team.

My then manager told me that we could go meet Mani sir post the press show. So, we went to the Madras Talkies office and I met him but I was thinking whether or not to ask him for a picture. I was telling how much I loved his works. That has to be my favourite Onam. I know it is not like any other normal people’s Onam celebration”.

However, that was not when Mani Ratnam zeroed in on Aishwarya for the character of Poonkuzhali in Ponniyin Selvan. “He had watched Maayanadhi and that is when he called me to meet him at his office. So Poonkuzhali happened in 2019 before we started the shoot in the same year,” she adds.

On the work front, Aishwarya Lekshmi has a web series for Sony Liv and another Telugu project tentatively titled, SDT 18, that will have her playing the lead role alongside Sai Durgha Tej and directed by Rohith KP. The team recently unveiled her character poster of Vasantha for her birthday last week. “That came across as a pleasant surprise.

I had just finished the photoshoot and wasn’t expecting that. Though it is too early to talk about Vasantha, I can tell you that this is one of the hardworking and young-at-heart teams. They are a bunch of talented people and Rohith is a director with a vision. We will have more to talk about it in the coming days,” she states.

With her birthday, and Onam falling in September, the actor says that it is important to celebrate things that are big or small and spread happiness and kindness around. “This is the latest thing I have learnt in life. We should celebrate everything in life regardless of the occasion or the religion. When we do that people we love will be near us and with us.

Those are memories that we create. Moreover, it is important to be kind and spread kindness. I have stopped reacting to certain things immediately and rather chose to deal with them with kindness. I came across this post on social media, ‘Be hard on the problem and not the person’. I’m happy that I could incorporate it into my life,” she tells us and wishes readers of DT Next a happy and prosperous Onam.