Jul 09, 2026 4:06pm IST
Jonita on Acting Pivot: ‘I’ve Been Auditioning For Seven Years’ (EXCLUSIVE)
The evolution of Jonita is something that the artist has worked on with a measured balance, moving from an expansive playback career to her electric live performances to her selective acting outings this year. After a glamorous item number in Adivi Sesh’s “Dacoit” to now a deglam look in Atharvaa-starrer “Idhayam Murali,” she walks Variety India through the prep for both roles and why following her instincts has made all the difference
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From an item number in Dacoit to a cameo in Idhayam Murali, is 2026 the year of Jonita, the actress?
(Laughs) I don’t know if I’d go that far. Getting the chance to explore acting has been exciting. I’ve been auditioning on and off for 6-7 years and am happy to explore it when the opportunity seems right! I’ve also done acting workshops in order to be ready for when the right opportunity arises…. What’s funny is that I shot for both Idhayam Murli and Dacoit around the same time, so it probably looks like a very intentional transition, but it really wasn’t. They were very different experiences, and I simply followed my instinct. I’m grateful that people are getting to see a different side of me this year.
Obviously, you would’ve got offers before. Why did these roles stand out?
I’ve definitely received acting offers over the years, but I was always waiting for something that genuinely resonated with me. I never wanted to take up a project just for the sake of it. “Idhayam Murali” was such a fun opportunity to do something completely unexpected, while my song in Dacoit stood out because of the team behind it and the sensitivity with which my part was handled. Even though both are essentially cameos, they felt like great learning opportunities, and that made it an easy yes.
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How much can you share about your character and the length of your role in ‘Idhayam Murali’?
My cameo in “Idhayam Murali” is not a very long one, but it’s definitely an important moment in the story. I can’t say more without giving anything away, but I’m really excited for people to discover it when they watch the film on July 10.
You’ve gone from a glam song in ‘Dacoit’ to a rather docile look for ‘Idhayam Murali’. What was the experience of putting together the look like?
The characters I had to portray in each project are worlds apart. Naturally, the look for each was quite contrasting. The two projects exist in very different worlds, and so I had to make sure my looks represented that. It was such a fun experience to experiment with how much styling can do to shape a character on screen.
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