Aishwarya Lekshmi wants current Mollywood actors to dance like Mammootty and Mohanlal in the ‘90s

Malayalam cinema has been gaining attention in the past few years and especially during the OTT phase for its rooted-to-reality stories. However, Mollywood actress Aishwarya Lekshmi, who has been part of movies such as Mayaanadhi and Varathan, is all for some popcorn entertainment as well. 

The actress, who plays a Sri Lankan Tamil singer in Dhanush’s Jagame Thandhiram, told IANS in a recent interview, “In Tamil, we have a very good mix of both (commercial entertainers and realistic films). We have films that are there to entertain, may be mindless or not mindless. In Telugu, style matters a lot. The way of storytelling, the visual way of telling. Even in Tamil, visual way of storytelling is very important.”

While talking about the current Malayalam films, she said, “I think with Malayalam right now, what we are producing is hell-bent on being realistic. As an audience, I am taking a back seat now and thinking I want to see dance and songs in Malayalam films. I want to see a Malayali actor dance how Mohanlal and Mammootty did in the ‘90s!”

In an interview with OTTplay, Aishwarya told us about her reaction when the action-thriller Jagame Thandhiram opted for an OTT release. “Initially, I was very upset because it’s a movie that we waited an entire year to release in theatres. We were all hoping that after Master’s release, Jagame Thandhiram would hit the theatres. But later, considering the situation, we understood there was no point in holding the movie, especially when so much money has been invested. So, that was the acceptance phase. Now, I think this is where the film should be. It’s getting a global release, reaching 190 countries and in 17 languages. It feels so good because suddenly the scale of the film has increased,” she said. 

The Tamil movie will release on Netflix on June 18.