Lakshmi Gopalaswamy

Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
Born	Lakshmi Gopalaswamy
Occupation(s)	Film actress, Model
Years active	2000–present
Awards	Won the Best Model Award of Kerala (2002)

Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is a South Indian film actress and danseuse. She has acted in several Malayalam, Tamil, and Kannada films. Her debut Malayalam film Arayannangalude Veedu alongside Mammootty won her the Kerala State Film Award for the best supporting actress. She was a judge on Asianet’s dance show Vodafone Thakadhimi. She acted alongside Mohanlal in the movie Keerthi Chakra.

References

Lakshmi Gopalaswamy- Goddess in the hearts of Malayalees

Lakshmi Gopalswamy is a serious student of Bharathanatyam and a dancer of repute. Dr. Uma Gopalaswamy her mother provided her the required artistic nourishment that encouraged her conscious steps to dedicate herself to this art form. Her mother still sings for her dance performances. Endowed with classical features, she has grace and a naturalness that complements her attractive personality, beautiful face and expressive eyes to this art form.

She has danced her way into the hearts of the Malayalees all around the world. She says the kind of appreciation she has got from the Keralities world over makes her feel like a goddess. The Malayalees love good dance and music. More than my films they love my Bharathnatyam. I keep giving performances all over Kerala and abroad. No where else art is loved and appreciated more she feels. Lakshmi, you are an actress but you are a dancer basically. So how do you identify yourself as, a dancer or an actress? I have been dancing since I was very young. So I think I have taken to it naturally. So if someone asks me to identify or introduce myself, I would definitely say I am a dancer and now I am an actress. I started when I was around eight years old. In fact, no one in my family had learnt dance. But I used to dance to any music playing around, create my own movements to the music. I forced and convinced my mom to send me to learn dance and that’s how it began. They thought after the initial craze I would withdraw like others. But I was very clear, I wanted to dance. Your first movie break? How did that happen? I had done a commercial for Mountain Mist tea, which was quite popular in Kerala. Director Blessy saw my poster for the same at some roadside teashop. He was looking for a north Indian character or rather some one who could pass off as a north Indian. So he thought I would probably suit the role and they tracked me down and came to Bangalore. That is how the first film Arayanangaludeveedu happened; I was cast opposite super star Mammooty. Even before that I had done modeling for several advertisements, so offers were pouring in; I had rejected many offers to do Kannada and Tamil films earlier. I got lot of offers due to my modeling and advertisement assignments. But never did I want to become an actress. (in between this she speaks about her recent films Thaniye and Paradesi) She is very happy with her role in Thaniye and Paradesi. She feels Thaniye brought the best acting talent in her. She owes it to Nedumudi Venu whom she calls Venu chettan and Babu Thiruvalla. She keeps insisting that you must watch Thaniye. She was also excited that the film was the scheduled for the Goa and Kerala International Film Festivals. In between my chat with her she books her flight to Goa to be at the screening of Thaniye during the festival. She says me now I feel I can also give good acting performaces. She is so happy and excited about the film, there are no words to express her happiness that is gleaming through the ever lit face. Purvapara was your first Kannada movie. Tell me about that film. It was a memorable experience. It was really a family experience because all the portions abroad, we shot in Canada, there were six of us who had for the shoot. So it was like the six of us making the film together. We ourselves did everything from acting to carrying the lights and equipment around, serving each other food, so it was a very homely experience. Director Chandru and actor Srinath were already known to me.

Tell me about your entry into dance and your education? As I told you I started dancing at a very young age. My mother encouraged me, she still sings for my concerts. I learned the art under the able guidance of Guru Smt Narmada and also inherited the academic nuances along with the performing aspects under Prof M R Krishnamurthy of Kalashetra. Regarding my education I did my Masters in Women’s Studies from NMKRV college. Women’s studies has helped me more with my art too.

You have won so many awards including the recent Sangithya Puruskara, tell me your most cherished award? I have won so many awards. The first of them way back in 1987 for the Government of India Talent Search Scholarships. Then I won senior proficiency Dance Scholarship from the Ministry of Human Resources and Development, Govt of India in 1991-93. These awards strengthened my resolve to strive harder and understand the nuances of Bharathanatyam.

I have won the MGR Best youth Dance award from the prestigious Madras Music Academy in 1991. I was so happy to receive this award.

What is most cherished moment in your dancing career? The most cherished moment is when I was invited to perform at the Kalamandalam in Cheruthuruthi, Shornur, Kerala. I was first of all excited at the place with the Bharathapuzha River and the serene architecture of the old buildings. I knew there were very talented and reputed artists performing difficult arts like Kathakali who were there at Kalamandalam. A kind of fear passed my mind when I saw the distinguished personalities who had come to see my dance. After the dance, they all said Lakshmi you really danced very well. And those words from some of the best talents and gurus made me so happy, those words still lingers in my heart, it is above any award. Those words encouraged me to perform better each time I went on stage.

Tell us about your performances in India and abroad? I have been a continuous member of Spirit of Unity Concerts for National Integration conducted by The Madras Telugu Academy. I have been a regular at the Soorya Festival, also for Dept of Tourism at various historical sites, Bangalore Habba and other cultural programmes.

But one of the performances which is close to my heart is at Byelorussia, Ukraine and Tashkent for the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster Foundation in 1991. I feel so happy performing for a cause.

Tell us about your films? I have acted in 16 (sixteen) Films till now. I still love my role in Arayanangaludeveedu, Kochu Kochu Santoshangal, Parangyu Teeraatha Visheshangal among rest of her films. Of late I liked the role in Keerthi Chakra and Boy Friend. But the films that have brought the best acting talent in me are Thaniye and Paradesi. I feel I done various characters in all these films. From a lover to a mother, to a wife, now a home nurse. So there is a lot of variety in the kind of roles I did till date.

Tell us about Thaniye and Paradesi? Babu Thiruvalla sirs Thaniye deals with the relationship between a lonely elderly man and his home nurse. Thaniye is a remarkable debut that is a reflection of the societal milieu in Kerala. An issue that is bound to have far reaching repercussions in our society. It is about an ill old man who is forced to live alone in a large bungalow as his only child is settled in the United States (U.S.), and his special relationship with a home nurse. The film Thaniye was produced by an organization called `Friends of Thiruvalla’ in Doha. It was made on a shoestring budget. When it was premiered at Bahrain the Gulf, many were actually on tears. The first thing a family there did was to immediately call their parents in Kerala. I took my Father along with me to Bahrain for the premiere. My father was touched by the film and was very happy with my performance; this made me feel very happy. You watch them film know. In the film Paradesi, I play one of the lovers of Mohanlal and comes in two song sequence. Though I did only two songs, I liked my role in a very good film. Rather it is a real story. The film narrates the real life stories of many of Pakistanis who were forced to take shelter in Malabar. What is one thing you would like to do apart from Dance and Films? I want to do something for water. Water is a serious issue, I want to educate and create awareness on this important subject. I want to do a lot for the environment. I am ready to join you in your campaigns. I love the tiger and would like to protect the big cats. Also whenever I am invited for a programme would like to speak on very important environment issues. Ullash Kumar R K