With her cute expressions, witty dialogues and incredible performance, Babymol from Kumbalangi Nights have already found a special place in the hearts of the Malayali audience. Many do not know that Anna Ben, the actress who beautifully essayed the role is noted screen writer Benny P Nayarambalam’s daughter. Though Anna is familiar with the filmy world, she is thrilled about the success of Kumbalangi Nights and also happy that the audience loves Babymol. Anna speaks to Manoramanews.com about the movie and her character.
Babymol’s repartees have become quite a rage, right?
The credit for those dialogues goes to screen writer Syam Pushkararan. He would clearly explain how to do a scene. That was the reason why I was able to mouth many witty dialogues amazingly.
Does Anna have any similarities with Babymol?
There are lots of similarities between us. Like Babymol, I am also passionate about cinema. I often quote dialogues from movies in real life as well. Though Babymol is a homely girl, her thoughts are very progressive. Like her, I have clarity and precision in my thoughts and words. Vypin, where I was born and brought up is exactly like Kumbalangi. I have seen many girls like Babymol there.
How did you bag Kumbalangi Nights? Did your father’s filmy connections help you?
I sent a mail seeing the casting call for Kumbalangi Nights in director Aashiq Abu’s Instagram account. I didn’t tell my parents about it then. When I was called for the audition, I didn’t tell the crew members that I am Benny P Nayarambalam’s daughter. I informed about the movie at home when I was selected after four auditions. My parents were really surprised. Though they knew about my passion for cinema, they never imagined that I would be selected in an audition. However, they were extremely happy and supported me wholeheartedly.
I had been to a few locations along with my father. So I was familiar with what happens behind the camera. But the experiences in front of the camera were unique. The sets of Kumbalangi Nights were fun-filled and we enjoyed a lot. Mathew and I are new faces while the rest of the cast were experienced actors. But the filming began after we were made part of their group. So I didn’t have any tension. Even if we felt tensed, everyone would support us.
How was your experience working with Shane and Fahadh?
Fahadh is someone who would act very naturally. I was often stunned by the way he performed. There is a scene in which Fahadh’s character and Babymol have an argument. It was received with applause at the theaters. I was able to perform well in that scene because Fahadh’s acting was so natural.
Shane is exactly like Bobby in Kumbalangi Nights. He loves to smile and be happy always. Shane has done mostly serious roles until now. Bobby is different from all those roles. I and Shane became good friends in the beginning itself. So the chemistry between us worked well in the movie as well.
Were you familiar with the real nights at Kumbalangi?
Though I was born and brought up in Vypin, which is close to Kumbalangi, I have never been to that place. I went to Kumbalangi for the first time for this movie. I was surprised to realise that there is such a beautiful place near my home town.
