By Kaushalendra Singh — SALALAH: April 9 - She did not have to do much of acting to bring tears into her eyes while receiving mementos for her recognition as the Best Actress by the jury of 64th Indian National Film Awards. The tears were automatically flowing while receiving the mementos from the cross section of Indian community living in Oman’s cultural city of Salalah.
Surabhi Lakshmi (pictured) did not have any clue about the Award when she started for a performance in Salalah from Kerala. It came as a surprise to her when she landed in Salalah for a programme organised by the Malayalam Wing of the Indian Social Club.
She regaled the audience of a programme which suddenly got a ‘star status’ and enthused both the actress and the audience with a rare spontaneity. Salalah was Surabhi’s first public honour after getting the honour.
“I did not have any clue seriously…On my arrival to Salalah Airport I became slightly confused when people started congratulating me. I thought they are congratulating me for my arrival in Salalah for a performance. But I was in a state of shock and surprise when someone in the crowd said ‘Congratulations for the Best Actress Award’.
“I said ‘what?’ and then it was their turn to get surprised that I didn’t know that the 64th National Film Awards were announced and I did not know about my own elevated position,” said Surabhi in her first face-to-face media interview after the announcement of the Award.
“I strongly believe that Salalah is a blessed land. I had heard a lot about the place before coming here. My faith about the place has solidified after coming here. I cannot forget Salalah for getting a ‘dream come true news’ soon after landing.
Native of Narikkuni, on the outskirts of Kozhikode in the Indian state of Kerala, Surabhi got the Award for her role in Malayalam movie ‘Minnaminungu’ – The Firefly.
The 30-year-old actress honestly admitted that she was “expecting some national award in her 40s or 50s but not now,” when asked how she made her way through the National Film Award despite being so young. “I had a dream and passion to get some big award. I would watch the actresses and famous sportswomen like Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Sakshi Malik and many others whom I did not know, being felicitated in national and international celebrations. I would enthusiastically wish to be one among them one day. I would re-watch them on YouTube… but never expected that it would come so soon,” said Surabhi in yet another honest admission.
“I will remain dedicated to acting and listen to my intuitions. Would love to entertain much more and do not stick to stereotyped roles. There would be variety and I would do roles for the sake of acting and entertainment. It does not matter whether I am getting a lead role or not. Role is a role for an actor and every actor should be a good entertainer,” she said when asked ‘what next’ after setting a National Film Award benchmark.
Surabhi’s role models are parents and teachers who made her a good human being and polished her acting and dancing skills. “I am inspired by big actresses like Aishwarya Rai and Sushmita Sen. I learnt a lot from their movies. For that matter all good things inspire me.”
A first ranker in Bharatnattyam at university level, Surabhi completed MPhil and now pursuing PhD in same subject. For her, music plays great role in acting. “In a given role, I strongly feel the presence of a particular music. Perfect music makes my mood and I feel like performing with perfection.”
Surabhi would have ended up becoming a livestock inspector, a kind of assistant veterinary doctor or a Bharatnatyam instructor had she not been an actress. She admitted in her candid admission amid a pause and then a big laugh as if she tried to reconnect something in between.
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