Ahead of the release of her upcoming Tamil-Telugu bilingual film ‘Vaathi’/'Sir', the actor shares her opinion on the current education system in India.
Malayalam actor Samyuktha dropped her surname 'Menon'. (iamsamyuktha_/Instagram)
Malayalam actor Samyuktha, who plays the female lead opposite Dhanush in director Venky Atluri’s upcoming bilingual film Vaathi, says she has dropped her surname — Menon.
“Please don’t call me Samyuktha Menon. I don’t want to include any caste name. My name in this film’s title card reads just ‘Samyuktha’. We can’t do anything about what the elders did when they enrolled us in school. Now, however, we have the choice to change it,” she told South First.
Without her surname, won’t it create confusion with the other actresses who have the same name?
“Well, if one thinks of me on hearing the name ‘Samyuktha’, then I consider it to be a recognition of my work. My work should be my identity,” she made her point.
Actor Samyktha. (iamsamyuktha_/Instagram)
Samyuktha makes no bones about her undergoing pressure while working for Vaathi/Sir, directed by Venky Atluri.
“I was tense. You are bound to be tense when acting with an actor like Dhanush because he gets every scene right in its first take itself. I was anxious not to create a situation where the team would have to go in for a retake because of a lapse on my part,” she guffawed.
The 27-year-old actor says Dhanush was really helpful and encouraged her by giving suggestions.
The film deals with problems plaguing the education system in the country and features Samyuktha as a biology teacher.
“In the movie, my character Meenakshi likes to have fun with students. I took my schoolteacher Deepa as a role model for this character. She was my favourite teacher and had an uncanny ability to carry herself in sarees,” she said.
Samyuktha speaks Tamil and Telugu as fluently as her mother tongue Malayalam.
“While shooting for Vaathi (Sir in Telugu), I would first prepare myself to deliver Tamil dialogues. After the Tamil version was shot, I would begin preparations for delivering the same lines in Telugu,” she recalls her experience working for the bilingual.
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Sadly, in real life, Samyuktha’s tryst with education stopped after school. For, she found her calling in cinema.
While Vaathi addresses certain problems in our education system, the actor has a different take on it.
She opines that the current education system does not look to nurture the capabilities and skills of each individual but rather tries to measure everybody by the same yardstick.
Actor Samyuktha. (iamsamyuktha_/Instagram)
“There is this popular story where all the animals in a jungle take part in a race. The monkey, the giraffe, the elephant, the fish and the bear compete with the deer. In the end, one animal is declared the winner and the rest are declared useless or losers. Our education system, too, tries to do that which is wrong,” she pointed out.
Samyuktha says she saw her friends who had other significant talents struggle in certain subjects. “One of my friends — a girl — who loved dancing had to study engineering and complete her Master’s before returning to pursue dance again,” she revealed.
The actor doesn’t subscribe to the belief that one must at least complete a degree before pursuing what one truly wants.
“However, while working for Vaathi, I realised how education can bring about a big change in the lives of children coming from the underprivileged sections,” she added.
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