More than Mohanlal's daughter: The many sides of Vismaya before 'Thudakkam'

For years, Vismaya Mohanlal stayed away from the spotlight. While many star kids grew up in front of cameras, she chose a quieter life. She wrote poetry, painted, travelled, trained in Muay Thai and rarely made public appearances. In many ways, she remained a mystery. So when the 36-year-old finally decided to make her acting debut with 'Thudakkam', people weren't just curious to see how she would perform. They wanted to know the person behind the famous surname.

Over the past week, that curiosity has only grown. In every interview, Vismaya has come across as soft-spoken, thoughtful and almost endearingly shy. There is none of the polish or practiced confidence that audiences often associate with celebrity children. Instead, there is an honesty that has made many instantly warm to her.

But the trailer of 'Thudakkam' reveals another side of her altogether. In one striking scene, Vismaya is pinned to a table, her face filled with fear and desperation. The quiet young woman from the interviews is nowhere to be seen. In her place is an actor completely immersed in the moment. It is a glimpse that has left many wondering if she has inherited more than just her father's looks.

Director Jude Anthany Joseph has admitted that he too found Vismaya difficult to read at first. Looking through her Instagram profile didn't tell him much about who she really was. So instead of asking more questions, he asked her to perform an emotional scene. The result caught him completely by surprise. When he later asked her to repeat the performance, Vismaya just smiled and said, "I don't remember what I did." Jude couldn't help but laugh. It reminded him of Mohanlal, who has often said the same thing about some of his most instinctive performances.

Stories like these are what make Vismaya's debut feel special. Comparisons with Mohanlal are, of course, inevitable. But the excitement isn't only because she is his daughter. It is because she doesn't seem to be trying to be anyone else. There is a quiet confidence about her, and an unpredictability that makes audiences eager to see what she brings to the screen. Among this week's releases, Thudakkam has become one of the most talked-about films largely because people are curious about Vismaya herself.

Her journey has also been very different from that of her brother, Pranav Mohanlal. Pranav entered films as a child actor, won a State Award and later worked behind the scenes as an assistant director before making his debut as a leading man in 'Aadhi'. Vismaya, on the other hand, stayed away from cinema for years. Apart from acting in school plays at Hebron School in Ooty and studying theatre in Prague, London and the United States, she never really stepped into the world of filmmaking. 'Thudakkam' is her first experience of being part of a full-fledged film production.

Perhaps what makes Vismaya stand out is that acting isn't the first thing people associate with her. She is already known as a poet, with 'Grains of Stardust' offering readers a glimpse into her thoughts and imagination. Painting has been another lifelong passion, even though she lost many of her favourite artworks during the 2018 Kerala floods. And then there is Muay Thai, a sport that introduced an entirely different side of her to social media. Whether those skills find a place in 'Thudakkam' remains to be seen, but together they paint a picture of someone who has spent years discovering herself before stepping into cinema.

Maybe that is what makes Vismaya's debut so interesting. This doesn't feel like the launch of just another star kid. It feels like the arrival of someone who has taken her own time, found her own interests and is finally ready to tell her own story.