Aishwarya Lekshmi never planned to become an actress. A doctor by training, she entered the film industry thinking she would return to practising medicine after doing just one film. Nearly a decade later, she continues to challenge herself as an actor, driven in part by a desire to prove her mettle. With films such as Ponniyin Selvan, Mayaanadhi, Ammu, and Gatta Kusthi to her credit, she makes her OTT debut with #Love, playing Tara, a dating app founder whose pragmatic take on relationships reflects some of her own ideas.
You make your digital debut with #Love, playing Tara. What drew you to the character and the show?
I was on a personal journey while working on #Love. I was going through a breakup and wanted to move on. It was a long, long recovery, and I found joy and freedom in playing Tara. I was drawn more to Tara as a person; her ideas about love and the people she dated came later. I was attracted to who she was, how confused she was when it came to love, and how ambitious she was at work, because all of that reflected many of my own thought processes. By the end of the show, I had embraced Tara’s idea of love being rooted in compatibility because it seemed so practical.
You switched from medicine to acting, making your debut with Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela in 2017. How has the journey been? Your filmography also spans a wide range of roles.
When I first started acting, I was only trying it out for one film. My parents are very orthodox, and they weren’t comfortable with their only daughter entering the film industry, especially after leaving medicine. I’m a doctor, but I was curious and thought I’d give one film a shot before returning to medicine. But that one film made all the difference.
I felt I hadn’t done a good job, and some people said I wasn’t a good actor and lacked a sense of what I was doing. That became something I wanted to prove wrong. I had to make sure I was a good actor and was doing everything right. That’s when I attended acting workshops in Bombay and immersed myself in everything related to the craft. My second film, Mayaanadhi, gave me the confidence to become a better actor and earn recognition from my peers. What began as a desire to prove something to myself eventually became a drive to sustain myself in the industry.
As an actor, I want to be versatile. I want to play roles that are different from who I am as a person. Tara is very close to who I am, so I want to play someone who is far removed from me. That’s what I’m looking for.
You have deactivated your social media accounts. At a time when social media can be a valuable form of currency for artists, do you think this decision might not work in your favour?
I’m happy with my life as it is right now and am much more at peace than I was when I was on social media. AI-manipulated images and fake news were the reasons I decided to leave that space. I still come across such content, but at least I’m not constantly on social media, watching it and allowing it to affect me.
Maintaining an image and dealing with everything that comes with it can be stressful. I’m focusing on the acting and hoping the other things fall into place, because I’m in the film industry for the acting alone. The love I receive organically from the audience is what I thrive on.
I started out with Malayalam films. My second film was much loved, although it wasn’t a box-office success. However, I received the recognition I deserved from viewers, and that’s what I have always craved. Since I gravitate towards genuine, organic attention, which I do receive, I don’t want to manufacture something that isn’t there.
Are you happy with the roles and narratives being written today? What change would you really like to see?
There’s a lot that can change in the industry as it exists today, but that won’t happen through a single conversation or anything of that sort. I feel that [actress] Nayanthara paved the way for more business opportunities for female artists by choosing stories centred on female characters. Having followed her filmography, I believe she chose a different path to become the superstar she is today. I somehow associate her with power. She took her time getting there. Her power didn’t come overnight; it was something she built brick by brick, and she continues to build it through her work. That power can be loud or silent. I, too, want to reach a position where I can bring about change through my work and craft.
Are you all set for your Hindi film debut?
I feel it would be the role of a lifetime. I can’t say anything about it until it is officially announced, but I’m incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to play a character in a Hindi film. The role is very different from Tara, which is exactly what I wanted.