Vaathi actor Samyuktha on getting rid of her surname: ‘I want the whole caste system to be gone’

How do you end up in good projects consistently?

It is happening to me. There was a time when I was very unhappy about the kind of films I was doing, but I had to keep the ball moving, and I am my own support system. I have my mother and grandmother who need to be taken care of. So, stopping the ball was not a choice for me. I used to wish that I was part of projects that I can be proud of, and that’s finally happening. It is also because of my instincts sometimes. For example, when I signed up for Bimbisara, it wasn’t a much-anticipated project, but it went on to become a blockbuster upon release. But I always believed that the project will work from day one.

A still from Vaathi.

You play a biology teacher in Vaathi, which is about problems with the educational system. What’s your take on it?

When I was in school, I always felt the system wasn’t bringing out the best in the students. Things that needed to be taught were never taught. I thought the structure was very rigid for someone who wanted to explore beyond the set subjects like biology, maths, but didn’t have the option. There was no option for art. I am also someone who believes that one doesn’t have to get conventional education to become knowledgeable. I studied only till Plus Two, and I am happy. I think education can also come from reading and interacting with people. But that is just my worldview. After doing Vaathi, I also realised how conventional education can help a lot of people out there who are struggling to come up in life. It can create magic for them.

It is fascinating that you chose not to pursue education after schooling, and now you get to play a school teacher.

That’s what makes acting look very very interesting in my eyes. You get to do things that you don’t do in real life. To get into a character that you are not and perform it based on the given script and your imagination is a great experience.

How was it to work in a film with two directors? Other than Venky Atluri, Dhanush himself is a director.

There were actually three directors as Samuthirakani sir was also part of the film (laughs). But Vaathi is made from just one perspective of Venky Atluri. Dhanush wouldn’t interfere with Venky’s work when he was doing his work beautifully. But Dhanush did give me inputs for scenes, and not anything to do with direction.

With Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada actors starting to collaborate, and with RRR winning Golden Globes and looking at an Oscar award, do you think it’s the best time to be an actor in the South?

Definitely. I used to think I should have been an actor in the 80s or the 90s because I felt the scripts were deep and big stars were made in that era, and there was this great new fascination about what cinema was. So, I wished it would have been great to be an actor then, but now, our cinema is going global. Also, the old concept that a successful actress will just act with all the leading superstars and fade out is gone. Now, actresses are proving that age is not a barrier to being a lead actress, and one can choose to be whatever she wants to be. Also, like you said many collaborations of actors from different industries are happening. Fahad Faasil acted in Pushpa. Prithviraj is in Salaar. The Indian film industry was always synonymous with Bollywood, but now that’s changing, and I await the time when it will all be one.

Dhanush and Samyuktha in Vaathi.

You didn’t want your surname to be included in the title cards and in other places. When did the realisation happen?

It happened a long time ago. I have been asking production houses and everyone for a year now to not use my surname. Yet, they keep calling me Samyuktha Menon. Even while signing films, I make it a point to tell them that I want to be only called Samyuktha, but it is very much inscribed in their head that they don’t remove it. So, when I came to Chennai for promotions of Vaathi, during one interaction, a journalist called me Samyuktha Menon, and I politely requested the person to just to call me Samyuktha, and that became news and a point of discussion. I am very glad that the discussion is happening because I want the whole caste system to be gone, and I am glad I am playing a part in bringing about that debate.

There were rumours that you walked out of Vaathi. How do you handle such things?

I was quite amused by it because I didn’t know why someone would do it. But in a way that gave me a lot of limelight. But that’s not good publicity. It was the biggest rumor about me till then. In Malayalam cinema, rumours are pretty hard to come by, so, I was not part of anything big. So, it was a bit new but I am used to it, and it doesn’t affect me anymore. There was a time I would follow all these rumours and social media comments of bullying and all that. Now, I don’t have time for that. Even if I do, I won’t go checking them out.