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On a roll once again

Ever youthful: Nadiya

Nadiya is one actor whom Time hasn’t dared to touch. Exactly two decades ago when she was ruling the roost in Tamil and Malayalam cinema and when her acting, attire and accessory statements had a huge following, she suddenly quit the scene!

She laughs: “I had planned it that way. I’d fallen in love even before I got into films, and came into the industry only because of Fazil uncle [the director’s ‘Poove Poochooda Vaa’ marked her sensational debut.] He’s like family. Shirish also suggested I go ahead, if I wanted to.” Nadiya is married to Shirish Godbole, an investment banker, who worked abroad till recently.

“My husband is a Maharashtrian. I’ve been in Mumbai throughout my life. That’s how we got to know each other,” she says. Nadiya is her screen name. In real life she’s Zarina. Happily ensconced in Mumbai, this mother of two comes to Chennai only for shoots. She was in the city recently for Rohan Krishna’s ‘Pattaalam.’

In her heyday Nadiya was never known to be choosy about co-stars. But about her roles, she was. The trend continues in her second innings too. So the actor is back again, on her own terms!

Today the choices may have narrowed down to mom and sis roles, yet she gets offers that invariably have her as the pivot — her comeback vehicle, ‘M. Kumaran s/o Mahalakshmi,’ for instance.

Though his debut attempt was a hit, at that point director ‘Jayam’ Raja wasn’t a big enough name for her re-launch, you would think. But Nadiya signed on the dotted line and at a stroke did away with the soupy, stereotypical mother of the silver screen.

Hip and happening, like today’s self-confident working woman, she lived the role of Mahalakshmi, a professor and mother of a college goer, and walked away with accolades that were no less than what the lead pair garnered.

“‘Jayam’ Ravi and I looked compatible together. Also the new-era mom gave the film a distinct edge and worked to my advantage,” says Nadiya.

It was a decade since she had called it a day in cinema and when they contacted her for the role, she was just leaving Mumbai after a holiday, back to her home abroad. “I was hesitant as I never planned to return. By opting for insipid roles I didn’t want my still vibrant fan base to be eroded. But my part and Raja’s narration convinced me.”

Again ‘Pattaalam’s Rohan Krishna is a newcomer. “The producer is vital because eventually it all boils down to money and so is the director whose thought process can make or mar matters. But I mainly go by my character, and my hunch, which generally doesn’t let me down,” she smiles. She plays a counsellor and head of a school in ‘Pattaalam.’ “It’s fun. Being with teenagers makes me feel really young, and Rohan is doing a wonderful job. ‘Pattaalam’ should work,” says Nadiya.

The Vishal starrer ‘Thamirabharani,’ her second project, had her playing an impetuous woman — a strong role once again. But the third film caught you unawares. Invites of the muhurat with Nadiya looking both ravishing and headstrong and Sundar C. with a thug-like demeanour were eye-catching all right but the title, ‘Porukki,’ that screamed out of the card was a shock. Somehow Nadiya’s name on it appeared incongruous. She responds: “You can’t deny that it’s a male dominated industry. I did raise the point, but director Shakti Chidambaram felt that the title would give his hero the essential identity. Then it became ‘Sanda,’ again not a very appealing title. But it worked. And I liked the way Shakti packaged the product.”

Actually soon after marriage, just before the 10-year hiatus, she had done ‘Rajakumaran’ with Prabhu, an average runner. “The result did disappoint me,” she comments.

So how does she spend her time in Mumbai? “I’m a full time homemaker. But now that I also work, my daughters are becoming more responsible. Shuttling between Mumbai and Chennai wouldn’t be possible without family support. Shirish, his parents and mine pitch in and help out when I’m not there.”

Even when she was a top heroine, in Mumbai she would travel on suburban trains. “I was never mobbed because none recognised me. When I wasn’t shooting in Chennai I would catch the first flight home. Dad and I stayed here during those days while mom and sister Haseena [she was my greatest critic] were in Mumbai. I could freely move around town, and had the best of both worlds,” she recalls.

The glitz of filmdom doesn’t seem to have affected her at all. “You need a strong family to keep you grounded. I could just shut that chapter out of my life and go away with my husband because that’s what I had wanted. And I was in cinema for just four years — not long enough to make it indispensable,” she laughs.

‘Pattaalam’ is the only film Nadiya is working in at the moment. “There’ve been several offers.” Naturally, the actor who’s done 37 films as heroine in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu is bound to be flooded with roles. “But nothing very impressive. Anyway for me it has always been one project at a time.”

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