'Women Have Desires, Dreams'

'Women have always been given titles like 'mother' or 'housewife'.
'These tags put so much pressure on a woman to be a certain way.'

Photograph: Kind courtesy Anjali Sivaraman/Instagram

Anjali Sivaraman was introduced to the audience in Cobalt Blue (2022), followed by her show-stealing turn in Netflix's Class (2023).

She transitions from OTT to the big screen with her first lead project Bad Girl, directed by debut filmmaker Varsha Bharath and backed by heavyweights, Vetrimaaran and Anurag Kashyap.

Anjali perfectly encapsulates the role of Ramya and her journey of self-love and discovery from an awkward school girl to defiant young woman, with judgmental eyes on her.

Just like her character Ramya, Anjali's pursuit of her dreams has been anything but neat.

"I'm not a very resourceful person. It was very difficult for me to put myself out there and navigate through all the noise and meet authentic people," Anjali tells Mayur Sanap/Rediff.

Ramya is such a fun, layered character, who is free-spirited in true sense of the word. What did you think of her when you first read the character?

I immediately connected with her.

I think she's living her most authentic life.

My only questions would be about technical things, like her look, the period it will be shot in...

I didn't have any questions about the character because I completely understood her.

I didn't judge her.

Just because she's vocal doesn't mean a lot of people think that way too.

I feel a lot of people shy away from being vocal because they're afraid of being judged by society.

She's able to confidently say what's on her mind and do what she wants to do without the fear of judgment.

Shanthipriya, who plays your mother, is also amazing in the film.

She was, wasn't she?

The film packs an impactful commentary on social constraints, especially for women. Have you ever felt that society has a different approach towards women?

Women have always been given titles like 'mother' or 'housewife'.

These tags put so much pressure on a woman to be a certain way.

At the end of the day, all humans are equal.

Women also have needs and desires and dreams.

That is what needs to become normalised.

What would you tell Ramya if you ever met her?

I feel Ramya and I would be great friends because we're very similar.

But I would tell her to go easy on her mom.

What's also lovely about the film is how it presents female friendship.

Yeah, I loved that!

How important are friends in your life?

Oh my God! My female friends are everything.

I don't know how I would survive in this world if I didn't have the friendships that I do.

That goes for all my friends because I have a healthy number of female and male friends.

Society encourages women to compete with each other but actually, we're very collaborative people.

We have high emotional intelligence and are very empathetic.

When we come together, celebrate each other and stand for each other, we become a stronger community.

I would be nothing without my friends.

What's the most rebellious thing you have done in your life?

When I moved to Bombay from Bangalore at 20.

I told my parents one week before that I would be moving and then I just moved.

I lived on my sister's couch for three months.

I found an ad production agency in Bombay, and worked as an AD for three months.

I worked at a music production agency with Mike McCleary as an assistant for about a year, and started singing for a band called The Bartender.

At some point, my senior from college -- he was Dibakar Banerjee's assistant at the time and they were casting for a Vivo ad -- got in touch with me. They auditioned me, and I got the part.

That's how everything began.

What inspired you to pursue a career in acting?

I've always been interested in acting.

My sister used to do theatre, my mom is a playback singer and would perform on stage.

I grew up watching them perform. I also grew up watching a lot of movies.

But when I tried to audition in Bangalore, I was constantly rejected.

When I moved to Bombay, after the Vivo ad happened, I started getting more and more calls from casting directors.

In 2018, I decided that I wanted to pursue it more seriously.

I went to the Prague Film School in the Czech Republic and studied acting.

I came back to India and started auditioning seriously.

In 2019, I did a commercial for Tinder, in which I acted and sang. That commercial went viral.

From then on, I started getting calls from filmmakers, directors and production houses.

I started auditioning, one thing led to another and I did my first film, Cobalt Blue, followed by Class.

How difficult is to find opportunities without industry connections?

Extremely difficult. It's a game of working really, really hard, being consistent with your work, and also luck.

Some people get opportunities and some don't. It's entirely about luck.

A lot of people are extremely talented people but don't have the same luck.

You also need to be driven and work hard.

Being an actor also means you have to be brave enough to face rejections and harsh opinions. Does it get overwhelming at times?

I'm not saying that I don't get affected because it has taken me a lot of trial and errors to get where I am today.

You do end up believing what you're hearing.

You do get upset.

But it's about how you pick yourself up and decide to do next.

Do you decide to give up or do you decide to keep working?

I'm not a very resourceful person. It was very difficult for me to put myself out there and navigate through all the noise and meet authentic people.

But if there's a goal, you just have to do it.

It's having a really strong support system in your personal life.

Who are some actors or filmmakers that really inspire you?

Tillotama Shome, Konkona Sensharma, Kalki Koechlin, Irrfan Khan...

There's a whole list of them.

I have always wanted to work with Anurag Kashyap sir, so Bad Girl was an incredible opportunity.

I'm a huge admirer of Mira Nair.

There are so many wonderful, fresh voices, people, who are so incredibly talented with such incredible stories.

How will Bad Girl change things for you as an actor?

I don't know. At the end of the day, the kind of artist that I've always wanted to be is a performance-based actor.

I want to act in a variety of projects where I can learn and grow as an actor.

I always dreamt of being able to convey that impact of emotion because I remember how it would affect me when I would watch movies.

I hope it will open more doors for me and I will get to work with incredible filmmakers.