I prefer to be a director’s actor, says Anjali Anish

Anjali Anish’s tryst with cinema began at a very young age when she started working as an assistant director. “I was part of the team of the Kannada film Ambi Ning Vayassaytho and the Hindi film Bhaiji Superhit. I had also worked as an assistant editor for an advertisement agency. In early 2019, I was in the USA, I went to a film school in Chicago which taught me about improvisations and to think on my own,” she tells us.
On how she landed an offer in Padavi Poorva, she shares, “I met Yogaraj Bhat sir to see if I could work as an associate director on his film Gaalipata 2. He suggested I try acting instead. At that time, I was preparing to be an actor as well as assistant director, so when he offered me a role in this film, that is being directed by Hariprasad Jayanna sir, I was thrilled.”
Anjali feels that having worked as an assistant director helped her get the nuances of acting right. “I am able to understand the director’s point of view better. I enjoy the process of how a story unfolds from one’s mind to the screen finally. I may have had a difficult time as an actor without the experiences I have had at the back end of a film production unit. It would have become a daunting task to understand the grammar of a film. I would always love to become a director’s actor and one day I would love to direct a film too,” she says.

For this film, Anjali tells us, she went through a month and a half long workshop to get into the skin of the characer she plays onscreen. I portray the role of a college student, Nithya. Since her dad had a transferable job, she is one of those people who grew up moving from one city to another frequently; she never had a set of friends to rely on. It is interesting to see how that aspect plays on the mind and in the future of this character.”