Malavika Mohanan on The Impact Of No-Makeup Looks In Cinema

Malavika Mohanan, who was last seen in Dhanush’s Maaran (2022), is gearing up for the release of her Malayalam film Christy. Helmed by Alvin Henry, Christy is set in 2005 and explores the story of a teenage boy who falls in love with an older woman. In this romantic comedy, she plays the titular character who is a simple woman residing in Poovar, a small town in Trivandrum. 

With the story set over 15 years in the past, cracking Christy was a big deal for Malavika. She had to become calmer and emulate the simplicity of a woman from a village. She looks at Christy as a game-changer in her career. “As a performer, I think this will be a turning point. There was no need for makeup or any additional getup. It was more about the feelings as the film deals with the subtle sensitive emotions of humans,” notes the actor.

Like her character in Christy, Malavika observes that certain situations and characters in films do not demand any makeup. “In real life, people don’t apply makeup during certain circumstances and Malayalam movies also follow that. I like that about the industry because while shooting such real-life sequences where people usually don’t wear makeup, we (actors playing these characters) don’t have to wear makeup either,” observes the actress. 

A realistic approach to depicting life is also what sets the Malayalam industry apart, she says. “I like when the makeup reflects real life and not the cinema's version of real life. So, the relatability factor is high in Malayalam cinema,” she says. The actress explains this with the example of her friend from Mumbai, who enjoys watching Malayalam cinema. “He connects with it so much because he feels like he is watching real characters on screen,” observes the actress. 

Speaking of makeup and outfits, Malavika says that there is always space to suggest these ideas even when you work in a commercial film with big actors. She says, “Karthik Subbaraj had seen Beyond the Clouds (2017) and that’s why he approached me for Petta (2019). At one point, he wanted to darken the skin to suit the role. But I told him not to do that as it might have become too similar to my look in Beyond the Clouds. Most directors are open to that sort of creative collaboration, where we can talk about what looks good and what doesn’t.”