Exclusive | Anupama Kumar: No regrets about beginning my career late

Anupama Kumar has been an integral part of the Tamil film industry for nearly 14 years. The actress, who made her big screen debut with the Hindi drama Ishqiya (2010), has carved a niche in Kollywood with her performances in films such as Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal (2012), My Son is Gay (2017), and Sarpatta Parambarai (2021). She was recently seen in N 4 and Pizza 3. In an exclusive interview with Roktim Rajpal.com, Anupama Kumar opens up about beginning her career at 35, dealing with rejections, and more.

From Sarpatta Parambarai to Pizza 3 and N4, you have been part of some well-received projects of late. How do you go about choosing films?

Due to family commitments, I am not able to take up all the work that comes my way. So I am very very choosy when accepting films. While the volume of work I do is very less, each and every film, each and every character is very carefully chosen. I request a complete narration of the whole project and I look at the quality of my role and character. The length of the role does not matter. 

 You are returning to the Hindi industry with two web series called Janata Band ( Prime original) and Cheeku. How was your experience of working on Ishqiya?

Working in the Hindi industry after so many years brought back so many memories. I started with Ishqiya as you said, which was an amazing project. It is my film alma mater.  It will always remain one the most enlightening experiences I have had because of the amazing cast and crew.

A photo of Anupama Kumar. Credit: Anupama Kumar

A Producer like Vishal Bharadwaj, a Director like Abhishek Choubey, and amazing co-actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi, what more can a girl ask for in her debut film?

 You began your career a bit late in life. Looking back, any regrets on that front?

Like you said, I started my career at the age of 35 after marriage and a baby, and I often wonder what it would have been like if I had started working as a teenager, and done many films as a leading lady. Every time I think about it, I always realise that while that would have been a great experience, what I have now is incomparable. I have a great work-life balance today that I am not so sure I could have managed had I started that early. So absolutely no regrets.

 How do you avoid being typecast?

Every time what I look for in a role is that I try to avoid something that looks or feels like something that I have done before and I try not to repeat it. I think that is why I have not been typecast and I look so different in every role.

Anupama Kumar is an established name in Tamil cinema. Credit: Anupama Kumar

Despite having started my career playing a 70 year-old in Pokkisham, Directors were visionary enough to cast me in different roles - whether it was the 25 year old village girl in Vamsam or the dedicated single mother in Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal, the Intelligence office in Meagaaman or the police inspector in N4 and Anal Mele Pani Thuli, the dignified lawyer in Are You Ok Baby or the whimsical Mandodari in Moodar Koodam, the urban business owner in Dhaarale Prabhu or the fiery Bakkiyam in Sarpatta Parambarai.

I am really grateful to the Directors who have been able to cast me in varied characters.

 Do you remember your first audition?

Yes, it was for an ad for Parle G which was shot in both Tamil and Hindi. I saw it again recently and I am still very proud of it.

How do you deal with rejections or roles getting reduced?

I take it as it comes. When I don't ask "why me" when I get fantastic roles like Bakkiyam, how can I ask "why me" when a role does not turn out the way it was expected to? Of course, when you put your heart and soul into a project and you work so hard and it doesn't do well or it doesn't reach the audience, it does break your heart.. but it's all part of the game.

The first film you watched in theatres.

My mother tells me that even as a small baby I used to love watching movies and I had to be dragged out of the theatres kicking and screaming. But the first film I remember watching completely and comprehending was the wonderful The Jungle book by Walt Disney. Even today I enjoy every bit of  it and sing along to all the songs. It's my stress buster and takes me back to a much simpler place.