Happy about how jury weighed my character for the award: Nithya Menen

CHENNAI: Less than 24 hours after being announced the Best Actor (Female) for her role of Shobana in Thiruchitrambalam, Nithya Menen recalls the moment she came to know about it. "I don't have a television or I don't keep myself hooked to social media. It was Dhanush, who called me saying 'congrats' and I asked him for what? He said that I have won the National Award for Thiruchitrambalam," she smiles. The actor immediately adds that she was surprised and opens up saying, "I thought he was playing a prank. Shortly after his message, congratulatory texts and calls started coming in. I am still surprised that the jury has recognised this role for an award. I have to thank them because someone has noticed this role with a subtle vision."

The reason behind this according to Nithya is that she has chosen roles that are happy and don't really align with award categories. "There are certain roles and genres which an actor should choose to be considered for an award. I tend to gravitate away from taking such roles consciously because I am a happy person and someone who ensures that I leave happy impressions with things I doThat is what has surprised me," she adds.

Having done various roles across languages, Nithya says that she indeed recalled the roles she has done previously, which could have been potential National award winners. "I am a person who doesn't dwell on something for a longer period of time. On Friday night, when everything was over, I sat and for a bit I looked back. I did a Kannada film called Myna (2013) and that should have won a National Award. Unfortunately, that film wasn't even sent for nominations. Yes, so it should have been Myna before Thiruchitrambalam," she opens up.

She is overwhelmed about the happiness that revolves around her winning the award. "More than the award, I could see how many people have rooted for me and are genuinely happy for me winning this. It is not only about me but also about the people around me," adds the actor.

Though Nithya feels that she hasn't done much work that belongs to the award categories, the roles that she chooses have been the driving force of the story. We cite examples of Aishwarya Vetrimaaran from Mersal, and Tara from Ok Kanmani, which had a lot of takeaways for the audience. "That's true. The work that we take up necessarily doesn't have to belong to the genre of the film. Sometimes subtle roles can garner a lot of recognition as well, which is why I mentioned the jury has done a great job in noticing this."

Nithya Menen will be next seen in Kaadhalika Neramillai, directed by Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi and co-stars Jayam Ravi. "That is again a fun film. I can't talk about the projects that are in the discussion stage. But I will be next seen in a project with Vijay Sethupathi. I can guarantee you that it will be a light-hearted, fun film," she opens up.

Apart from theatricals, Nithya has also done credible work in the digital space. "As an actor I feel happy that we have more avenues to express ourselves without borders. With that I get to perform on a bigger canvas and get to do different things without being boxed. I am hopeful and excited about getting this bigger space as well," remarks Nithya.