Malavika Mohanan on Thalapathy Vijay, Rajinikanth, Dhanush and Need for More Female Gaze | Spotlight

Malavika Mohanan sits down with Variety India for a striking, career-spanning conversation that opens with the confession that she never wanted to be an actor at all. In this exclusive interview, Malavika Mohanan traces her unlikely path into film: From being a cinematographer's daughter (and having Vicky Kaushal as her neighbour) to Mammootty personally recommending her for her Malayalam debut opposite his son, Dulquer Salmaan. She recounts landing Majid Majidi's “Beyond the Clouds” at 21, and why the biggest lesson of her career has been to stop chasing, because "every time I've gone chasing, it's never worked out." She's sharply honest about the state of writing for women: "flowerpot roles" that exist only to prop up male leads, why Tamil cinema has been writing meatier women for a decade before Hindi cinema caught up, why the "pan-India film" label is a marketing fiction and why the female gaze on screen doesn't have to mean less action; it just means the woman gets to be the one wielding the sword. Malavika Mohanan also revisits working with Thalapathy Vijay on “Master,” learning camera techniques from Dhanush (including the exact technical detail behind a 48fps crying scene), the surreal experience of working with Rajinikanth in ‘Petta’, working with Vijay Sethupathi across three films and reuniting with him for Thiagarajan Kumararaja's ‘Pocket Novel’. She names her dream directors like Zoya Akhtar, Vikramaditya Motwane and Mani Ratnam and closes with the piece of advice young actors don't want to hear but need to: "The lows will always outweigh the highs. Chase what you love, not the outcome." ▶ Subscribe to Variety India for exclusive, in-depth conversations with the boldest voices in Indian cinema. 👍 Like this video if you love Malavika Mohanan's work. 💬 Which Malavika role is your favourite? Tell us in the comments. Timestamps: 00:00 Malavika Mohanan On Being A Woman In Cinema Today 00:44 How Mammootty Recommended Malavika For Her Debut 03:34 Growing Up A Cinematographer's Daughter In Mumbai 06:38 Why Vicky Kaushal Was Malavika's Building Neighbour 07:20 Why Malavika Never Wanted To Be An Actor 08:39 How Malavika Mohanan Got 'Beyond The Clouds' At 21 11:12 Malavika Mohanan On The Pressure Of A Majid Majidi Debut 12:53 Why Malavika Mohanan Loves Playing Complex Women 14:22 Malavika On Superstition & Surrendering To The Universe 15:52 Why Malavika Mohanan Refuses The 'Flowerpot' Roles 18:22 Malavika Mohanan On How Tamil cinema Writes Better Women 20:31 Malavika Mohanan: 'You Can't Make A Pan-India Film' 23:00 Why Malavika Mohanan Wants An Indian 'Kill Bill' 24:29 Malavika Mohanan On Working With Thalapathy Vijay in 'Master' 26:14 How Malavika Mohanan Learned Camera Techniques From Dhanush 28:15 Malavika Mohanan On Working With Rajinikanth In 'Petta' 29:30 Malavika Mohanan On Vijay Sethupathi & 'Pocket Novel' 31:29 Malavika Mohanan On Making A Film With Mohanlal 32:53 Malavika's Dream Directors: Zoya, Motwane, Mani Ratnam 34:31 Malavika Mohanan On Being A Wildlife Photographer 36:12 Malavika Mohanan On Her Training As An Athlete 37:32 Malavika's Closing Note: 'The Lows Outweigh The Highs' #MalvikaMohanan #Master #Petta #BeyondTheClouds #ThalapathyVijay #VijaySethupathi #Mammootty #Rajinikanth #Dhanush #PocketNovel #Kollywood #FemaleActress #MalavikaMohananInterview #VarietyIndia #IndianCinema #Entertainment # Podcast #Actorinterview #BollywoodCelebrity #Bollywoodnews #Actors #Actress #BollywoodGossip #Tollywood #Mollywood #Hollywood #BollywoodCinemans #MalayalamActress #ActorLife #WomenInFilm #FeminismInCinema #CareerJourney #SuccessAndFailure #ActorInterview Check out below links and follow for more: YouTube: @varietyindia Instagram:   / varietyindia   X (Twitter): https://x.com/varietyindia Facebook:   / varietyindiaofficial   Threads: https://www.threads.com/@varietyindia LinkedIn:   / variety-india