Unnimaya in 'Parava' as Maya teacher (L) and as Sara in 'Maheshinte Prathikaaram'As actor-turned-director Soubin Shahir's directorial debut Parava is soaring high up garnering positive reviews from all corners, Unnimaya, aka Ichappi’s Maya teacher, still has that smile on her face. In Parava, it was Maya teacher who gave Ichappi the wings of confidence when he failed in class.
The audience might not easily forget Unnimaya Prasad who had them in splits as Sara, Eldhochayan's overbearing wife in Maheshinte Prathikaaram.
Unnimaya who is the wife of script writer Syam Pushkaran talks to Onmanorama about her experiences with the Parava team and more..
How was it playing the teacher in ‘Parava’?
Soubin is a very interesting friend. He described the character as if he had a similar experience in life when one of his teacher not only comforted him in a moment of crisis but slightly elevated his confidence level as well. In fact, I had worked as a teacher in an engineering college for a while. There are many students who are so close to me and even have the freedom to crash at my house. All these gave me the confidence to take up the role of Ichappi’s teacher in the movie.
Ichappi is a brilliant actor. It felt as if he is really worried and I should do something to cheer him up. Parava had an amazing team. Soubin is a person who has an abounding energy and it is not an easy task to equal that sort of energy. So the movie too shares an immensely beautiful energy. I am from Kochi, so I too could feel a kind of warmth and closeness to the Kochi portrayed in Parava. The movie intricately and beautifully presented the smallest details, which created magic on screen. Parava obviously embraces humanity to a great extent. Soubin rocked in style and little Muneer and Rex amazed us.
Unnimaya is the wife of script writer Syam Pushkaran Audience really loved the characters of Maya teacher and Sara though they appear only in a few scenes...
Introducing a character well with just minor details is a brilliant technique. The audience gets to relate to facial expressions, properties, dialogues and the reactions of a co-actor. That was the strategy used by the film maker and the writer and it worked well in Parava.
Favorite movies
I live amidst a lot of people who express genuine humor; and I am really fond of comedies like Ponmuttayidunna Tharavu, Yodha, Midhunam, Kadinjool Kalyanam, Kilukam and so on. I watch movies in all genres; Maheshinte Prathikaaram and Idukki Gold are my personal favorites.
Unnimaya on the sets of 'Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum'About your background
I am a native of Palluruthy in Kochi. I completed my degree in architecture from Thiruvananthapuram Engineering College; and worked as a teacher at Ooty, Manipal University and Palakkad Architecture College. After marriage, movies dominated a huge part of my life. I am also an architect at Pramod Parthan’s Sankalp Architects.
Movie dreams
I had assisted Shaiju Khalid in the segment called Sethulakshmi in the anthology movie Anju Sundarikal and acted in it too. I am extremely happy that I got the chance to assist and to act in the two movies directed by Dileesh Pothen as well. I hope that more such good roles come my way in the future. It indeed is amazing that young film makers debut with brilliant films like Parava and a lot of equally talented artists work together without even the slightest hint of ego. It is obviously very satisfying and makes me happy that I too could be part of honest ventures like this.
