Three-time National Award-winning actor Revathi is quite upbeat about her latest movie Aye Zindagi. She plays the role of a grief counsellor in the movie, which revolves around the struggle of a young man, who has been diagnosed with a chronic liver condition. The trailer of the movie showed that as the young man, played by Satyajeet Dubey, waits for an organ donor while battling the devastating effects of his illness, he finds a companion/mentor in Revathi’s character.
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“It’s a beautiful heart-warming film. The performances are very true, very dear and beautiful. The story is said well and has a soul, which I think will connect with many in the audience. If people have gone through this phase at some point in their life, they will relate to the film,” Revathi told indianexpress.com.
She noted that the job of a grief counsellor is not easy given they are tasked to initiate difficult conversations with patients and their loved ones. And the experiences in her real life informed her performance in the movie Aye Zindagi. “I have seen this for several years. I had volunteered with certain organisations. I have also read the story which inspired this film. I know it is not easy to counsel a family that had lost a loved one or the people waiting for an organ. Medicine has improved so much that you can give a quality of life to a person for a few more years. All these were very well written. Having discussed this with the director several times, the character just emerged beautifully,” she added.
It also helped Revathi that Anirban Bose is an actual doctor, who has dealt with some emotionally-heavy medical cases in his profession. “I discussed this with the director several times. Given that Anirban himself is a doctor, he has met all the characters we portray (in the film) in real life. It was easier talking to him and getting to know what he wanted from us,” she said.
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Revathi also appreciated Anirban’s determination in going to great lengths to bring this story alive on the screen. “Hats off to him (Anirban). He is a doctor and he wanted to tell a story. He wrote the script and decided he wanted to direct it. He then went to a film school and studied filmmaking. He has gone through a lot to tell the world this story. He believed in this story so much,” the actor said.
Revathi also briefly discussed her ongoing efforts to make the Malayalam film industry a safer place to work for women through the organisation called, Women in Cinema Collective (WCC). “WCC is making its dent beautifully. It’s taking time because changing attitudes is not easy. That’s what WCC is trying to do — change the attitude of people in power in the film industry. If my daughter or son wants to come into the film industry, I want this industry to be a safer place,” she said.
