I Did Not Want To Give The Wrong Message: Anaswara Rajan On Mike

In her latest Malayalam outing Mike, Anaswara Rajan plays Sarah aka Mike, a youngster who wants to undergo gender reassignment surgery. The actress, who will soon be foraying into the Tamil Industry with Trisha’s Raangi, talks to Vishal Menon about her big screen experience and the research she did for her role in Mike. 

Directed by Vishnu Sivaprasad, Mike traces her character’s inner conflicts and experiences. The actress says that she studied a lot about gender reassignment to make sure that she doesn’t give the wrong message. “I started to research the concept as soon as I heard the story. Nowadays, every movie is getting criticised by people. Even otherwise, I didn’t want to give the wrong content or message to people. Ever since I heard the script, I used to contact Vishnu (the director) for every single thing. Even during the shoot, I would ask him several questions like ‘why this person is doing this, why is this dialogue given here’. One should never give wrong ideas to society, even unknowingly. I am adamant that whatever I give, be it the character or the film, it shouldn’t be something that would give the wrong impression. That’s why I do the research before working,” Rajan says. 

The actress made her acting debut with the 2017 film Udaharanam Sujatha, and still remembers feeling excited over seeing her name card on the screen. “The experience was definitely life-changing. I came to Kochi to watch the first-day first show of the movie with the crew. And I remember seeing my poster while I was passing through the area the previous day. After seeing my face on the poster, I couldn’t sleep that night,” she recalls. 

Rajan further notes that she didn’t pick up calls until she watched the film. She says, “It was like an excursion. The show had already started in my native place. So when people called me after watching the movie, I didn’t pick up their calls. I wanted to watch it and then talk to people. While watching the film, I saw my name on the big screen and noticed everyone’s eyes on the big screen. After getting out of the theatre, the media was outside, and they were asking questions. It’s a one-of-a-kind experience, something one can never forget.”

This story was originally published on September 10, 2022