With Irrfan Khan as her co-star, Parvathy Thiruvothu gave us one of contemporary Hindi cinema’s most heartwarming love stories — Qarib Qarib Singlle. Six years later, the Malayali actress is back in Hindi films, in Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Kadak Singh, streaming on ZEE5. We caught up with Parvathy on what has kept her busy, why she chose Kadak Singh after much deliberation and her experience of working with co-star Pankaj Tripathi.

What took you so long after Qarib Qarib Singlle to do another Hindi film?

Parvathy Thiruvothu: There was always the aspect of getting something extremely exciting, something different from Qarib Qarib Singlle. But I also got busy with films that I was doing in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. I do one movie at a time. Then the pandemic happened. There was no actual strategy to not do films in Hindi or that bad scripts were coming. It so happened that I was busy with the ones I had taken on.

You didn’t say yes to Kadak Singh immediately after your first conversation with Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury. What convinced you?

Parvathy Thiruvothu: I couldn’t quite understand the consequences of my character in the film. Our writer Ritesh Shah, Tonyda (Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury) and I had discussions. They had full faith in the fact that the character could be built together. My character has a certain flair and texture in the film. I completely trust my directors if they say that, and especially since it was Tonyda I had to say yes.

⁠You play the role of a nurse. Did it need preparation?

Parvathy Thiruvothu: Yes, I did prepare. There are so many nurses whom I had met for another character of a nurse I did earlier. But Ms Kanan, my character in Kadak Singh, has a different angle. I built an entire backstory along with Tonyda and Ritesh Shah. Where does she come from? What is her religion, or is she an atheist? Is she someone who will get emotionally committed to her patients, or does she just stick to her work and do the best she can? What is her life back home like? Does she have a child? Why is her name Kanan? Even her name is given by Pankaj Tripathi’s character.

There is such a levity to the character; she is not in the job of managing others’ perception of her. That was very helpful to understand that her attitude to life comes from purely existing, never worrying about how she is seen or perceived. These tiny things came in to build the character.

Most of your scenes in Kadak Singh are with Pankaj Tripathi. What was it like to work with him?

Parvathy Thiruvothu: It was like watching and studying from an acting giant. His intention is so pure; it’s about finding joy in his craft. He is very happy to be in that space. There is a pure presence when he is on the set. When we had dialogues together, there was so much he did with delivering his lines. We would improvise a lot and wouldn’t know what the other person was going to say. It was fun. It is also so brave to take those chances. We do this with many actors but with Pankajji it was really special.

Was there any scene that you found challenging?

Parvathy Thiruvothu: It’s my final scene in the film which also has Pankajji’s character. That was a very difficult scene to perform. I got emotional on the last day of the shoot. But I felt that I couldn’t bring too much emotion to my character at any point. Ms Kanan would not get emotional in that way. I had to be restrained in order to show that she cares, though that was calculated caring. It is also very genuine and honest in the sense that she does feel those things but she also has to be in control and just be a professional.

How was it like to be directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury?

Parvathy Thiruvothu: I have seen his earlier works. He is immersed in the joy of putting together a team, collaborating and talking and having food with each other, and sharing the finer things in life with the team. It is never really transactional for him. He doesn’t just do the job and get out. He doesn’t look at actors like hired people just coming in and doing their job. He truly looks at them like family.

I feel like it is important to note that a part of me thought that after a point one wouldn’t find people like him who would be at the top of their game, making the kind of films they were making. Then I found him. It is like putting my faith back in the kind of filmmaking that I believed in before.

Did you do workshops with him?

Parvathy Thiruvothu: No, though I heard Pankajji, Sanjana (Sanghi) and many other actors had. I personally didn’t have any workshops. I would have loved to spend time with them. There is a distance between my character and the other characters in the film. My not being in the workshop would also be a kind of workshop.

Any favourite moments from the sets of Kadak Singh?

Parvathy Thiruvothu: Frankly, this is that one film for which I would wake up and jump off my bed to go to the set every day. With Kadak Singh, I used to have a great time with the team. Each and every person was handpicked and they were some of the nicest people in the world who were put together on the set. I felt very calm and taken care of. That was my biggest joy. We would have home-cooked food every day.

What is next for you?

Parvathy Thiruvothu: There is a movie called Thangalaan by Pa Ranjith, which is releasing on January 26.