Ahilya Bamroo on Landing Gauri Role in ‘Sing Geetham’: ‘Nag Ashwin Messaged Me on Instagram’

South Indian actress Ahilya Bamroo has earned critical acclaim for her performance as Gauri in Singeetham Srinivasa Rao’s musical, “Sing Geetham.” Bamroo, who made her full-fledged debut as a lead actress with this movie, has already signed a big Tamil film. In an exclusive chat with Variety India, Ahilya shares how she got this role, the viciousness of trolls and why she may not be everyone’s cup of tea. 

You landed a plum role in Nag Ashwin’s ‘Sing Geetham.’ How did you get this big break? 

I got an Instagram message from the producer Nag Ashwin. He has been following my content for a while. He knew that, as a voiceover and mimicry artist, I do accents and sketches. I also sing. He messaged me saying, ‘I have this really interesting musical project, directed by Singeetham Srinivasa Rao.’ Instantly, I realized that Srinivasa was the legendary director of “Pushpaka Vimana,” a cult classic, silent movie. In 15 minutes, I was on a call with both Ashwin and Srinivasa. It was very surreal. The director briefly pitched me the story about this crazy village where everyone sings. And that I was being considered for the character of Gauri. Then Srinivasa asked me to sing for him. That was kind of my first audition process. Then, I had an in-person audition with the film's hero (Ayaan). And a month later, I got a call confirming my selection. 

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Do you remember the early days of the shoot? 

It was overwhelming because this was a big project for an actor in general and a musical on top of that. Also, I don't speak Telugu. But I knew that if they saw something in the audition, it was an opportunity for me as an actor to commit myself to a language and then a musical. While I love watching musicals, I was not really sure how it would pan out. It was a completely new genre for me. But I knew I had to put my best foot forward.  

Besides Hindi and English, you speak French and Bengali fluently. How tough or easy was it to pick up Telugu?

I've always been a pretty good mimic of sounds. But to get the colloquialism right, music helps. When I realized that the way Telugu is spoken in its musicality, as it has a tone, I knew that's what I had to nail. That took time. Then of course, learning which words I was saying were, for example, prepositions and which were adjectives. So that helped me. I took classes every day for a month and a half. And I took it very seriously. I really wanted to dub myself, so I put a lot of effort into learning the language.  

Would it be fair to say that you got lucky with this project, given that you are a newcomer?  

I'm definitely lucky because it's not like there's a shortage of talent in this country. It's just that who gets the opportunity to show their talent becomes a sort of lottery game. Even for this part, there are plenty of  Telugu actresses from the state who can sing, and who I'm sure are brilliant actors. I know I got this opportunity because I offered something in the audition that they really liked. But I have to prove that I've actually deserved it. Because I don't come from a filmy background and it's not like my name would help bring in a huge audience.   

I definitely feel blessed that I have started with masters of their craft. Moving forward, I want to challenge myself as an actor. It doesn't matter whether I'm working with a big name or a first-time filmmaker as long as the project is interesting.  

What is the hardest part of being an actress in India today?  

I think because the country is so diverse and wide, there are so many types of audiences that if you want to be considered a pan-India actor, you have to work across all industries to be appealing to all of the audiences. And I think that sometimes, that weighs on me because I feel like I'm not everybody's cup of tea. I'm a little reclusive. I grew up in Auroville, in a forest. I've never thought of myself as a glamorous actress in the 90s Bollywood way. I remember auditioning for parts and being told that I didn't fit in or look the part, perhaps because I didn’t fit into their version of glamour. But actually, I'm very happy about being unapologetically myself. I've gotten to work on projects like “Sing Geetham,” where none of the characters are very gendered. It doesn't matter that they're women. We're not written like women; we're written like people.  

Women continue to be objectified in the film industry. How do you plan to handle this? 

I am clear about the kind of work that I would like to do and the type of projects I'm interested in. I've always had a support system, besides my family, that's extremely supportive of the work that I do. I know the choices that I will make. I know where to draw the line. There will be times when I'll have to make a difficult choice, to perhaps walk away from a huge project just because I know it's not going to align with my values.  

Trolling has become a menace today. How do you deal with it?   

As a content creator, you think you can engage with your followers in the same way that you do with your friends. The truth is, people have such differing views from you. You can make what you perceive to be a non-controversial statement, and it can just blow up over social media. It happened when I said something, and it went viral. And then somebody leaked my private number out on Twitter, and I faced cyberattacks, calls, and hateful messages, and really awful things were being said to me and sent to me. It has made me wary.