Exclusive! Hridayam: Kalyani Priyadarshan on how much of Pranav Mohanlal is there in his character

The casting of Pranav Mohanlal and Kalyani Priyadarshan in Vineeth Sreenivasan’s Hridayam immediately took the fans back to the films of Mohanlal and Lissy duo in the 80s. It seems that Vineeth too would be cashing in on that nostalgia, with fans noticing the references from the veteran actors’ Chithram in the film’s posters as well as its song Nagumo.

While Kalyani and Pranav had earlier teamed up for Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham for an extended cameo, the actress discounts this, saying that “it was just a teaser for Hridayam”. In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, she talked about working with Pranav for the much-anticipated film, which also has Darshana Rajendran and is set to hit theatres on January 21.

The actress told us that she was nervous during her first day on the set that had her shooting a song cut. “I remember Vineeth chettan being delighted. He messaged me after we got back to our rooms and said that the kind of magic that he envisioned between our characters was there from the start itself. I said all that came naturally because I have known this guy all my life,” she said.

On how much of Pranav is there in his character Arun Neelakandan, the actress explained, “The way he smiles and his spontaneous gestures, that is entirely Appu (Pranav), who I have known all my life. I believe it’s the mark of a good actor in terms of how they put themselves into a character. But at the same time, as laid back as the character is, there is a difference between Arun and Pranav.”

Kalyani’s character Nithya Balagopal comes extensively in the second half of the movie. Hridayam revolves around Arun’s life from his campus days to his life after college. Divided into two chapters, the movie traces his life through the ups and down of his life, journeying through his friendships, relationships, heartbreaks and marriage.

Scripted and directed by Vineeth, the movie marks Pranav’s third full-length feature film after Jeethu Joseph’s Aadhi and Arun Gopy’s Irupathionnaam Noottaandu. Kalyani made her Mollywood debut in 2020 with Dulquer Salmaan’s Varane Avashyamund and will next be seen sharing screen space with Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran in Bro Daddy, which is set to release on Disney+ Hotstar on January 26.

Also read: Exclusive! Vineeth Sreenivasan: For Hridayam, I’ve tried to cast actors based on their real-life personalities 

Also read: Exclusive! Kalyani Priyadarshan: I have learnt the most as an actor while working with Mohanlal in Bro Daddy