Honey Rose: Cinema doesn’t need me, I need cinema and that’s why I am clinging to it

For a lot of people, it would be a surprise that Malayalam actress Honey Rose has completed 18 years in the film industry. The reason being that the actress, who made her debut in Boyy Friennd in 2005, has continuously reinvented herself at each phase of her career – be it Trivandrum Lodge, Chunkzz or Veera Simha Reddy.

The motion poster of her latest signing, Rachel, has already managed to create a buzz as it has her in an intense avatar. In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, Honey Rose talks to us about Rachel, feedback from her Telugu movie with Nandamuri Balakrishna and the challenges she has had to face in her career so far, to stay relevant.

Also read: Rachel first-look poster: Honey Rose wields a butcher’s knife in this intense thriller film 

A few days ago, you had released the motion poster of Rachel, which has you essaying the titular character. What can you tell us about the movie?

We will be starting the shoot only in September and the plan is to release it in multiple languages. I play Rachel and it’s not a character or a movie that people expect from me. It’s a raw and gritty film, based on a short story that was published in a vernacular publication. We are also hoping that the movie will attract people to theatres as all of us are confident about the film’s content, which is also what hooked me when director Anandini Bala and writer Rahul Manappattu had narrated the script.

The poster sort of mirrored a violent theme – with your character wielding a cleaver in a butchery. Abrid Shine, who is also the co-producer of the film, had previously also made The Kung Fu Master with Neeta Pillai that showed an aggressive side of the female protagonist.

I think his movies have always been experimental – from 1983 and Action Hero Biju to Mahaveeryar. He wants to present something different to the audience every time and that’s probably what would have attracted him to be part of this film as well. It’s got an unpredictable and unexpected storyline that is raw in all respects. When women play such characters, there’s bound to be that interest to watch these films.

Earlier this year, you had also starred in Veera Simha Reddy with Telugu star Nandamuri Balakrishna, whose movies have a wide reach. How was the feedback for the role?

It was a big budget movie with a legendary actor like Balakrishna sir. Its director Gopichand Malineni is a renowned filmmaker who had worked in movies such as Ravi Teja’s Krack. All of this benefited me as I was able to be part of such a big movie with big names attached to it. The promotions too were done on a huge scale to ensure that it reached the masses. I was able to experience all of that and I got a lot of feedback and in fact, I am still getting responses about my performance in the film. We did so many promo functions for the film in the Telugu states where we were able to interact directly with the audience. It was simply magical – to feel that vibe and energy of the crowds. It’s something that has to be seen to be believed.

Also read: NBK108: Balakrishna recommends Honey Rose for a key role in the action drama? 

Now that you have done a role in a big film like that, there’s bound to be more offers. But is there variety in the kind of opportunities that are coming your way from other film industries?

I did get a lot of similar roles, but I didn’t take them up because I wasn’t keen on following the same pattern. You want to do characters that excite you. The role I did in Monster was one such character.

The role in Monster – that of a lesbian criminal – is something that a lot of artistes would hesitate to take up, fearing the backlash.

When I did the movie, I never thought of it like that. It’s only when the movie was released, I was hounded by this question by a lot of other people. As far as I was concerned, it was a strong character that allowed me to perform as it also had a lot of layers. My only thought was how well I can perform this role.

Also read: Monster movie review: Mohanlal, Honey Rose's experimental thriller yields mixed results 

You have been in the industry for 18 years. Over this time, what were the changes you had to make – in terms of the selection of roles and movies – to stay relevant and on top of the game?

I haven’t deliberately tried to make any change; I have just gone with the flow. For me, the past 18 years have been a big journey filled with ups and downs. Our graph doesn’t progress on the same level always. There are times when we get good projects and times when you don’t get anything. There will be hits, followed by a series of failures. To sustain in the industry after all that is a Herculean task. You will only stay motivated if you are passionate about movies and your career.

Cinema doesn’t need me; I need cinema and that’s the reason I am clinging to it like a leech. Everybody wants to act and so you can easily be replaced in this career. So, you have to have that mind to understand what motivates you and put in the work to excel in that. There’s also a lot of hope involved. Tomorrow, good movies might find you or might not, but you have to keep hoping it will and that’s what drives you. That’s the only way to sustain yourself in this field.

If tomorrow, I am not getting any good offers, it’s easy for me to think that my time is over. That’s because there are ten thousand people around us reaffirming that negative belief. There are people in our homes to those outside who would tell you that you are done. Everybody likes to judge others. It’s not just in films; in any field of work, there will be people who will try to pull you back. You have overcome all of that and forge ahead. Or at least, you will have to come to a point where you believe that you have given your best and it didn’t work out. Because, it’s necessary for us to convince ourselves that we didn’t give it up midway.

At this stage in your career, are there any actors or directors that you want to work with?

I want to work with everyone. Everybody in this industry is talented and there’s something we can learn from everyone. I am hoping I get those opportunities too.

What are your upcoming projects?

Rachel will be my next project. After that I will be doing a Telugu film. I can’t talk much about it but it will be with a big team.