Malavika Mohanan’s latest, Yudhra, did not meet expectations as it both underperformed at the box office and failed to receive any critical reception. Despite this, Malavika Mohanan is still riding high on the acclaim she received for her role as the magical entity Aarathi in the Tamil action film Thangalaan. In a freewheeling chat with us, the actor opens up about two of her films this year which received contrasting receptions.

“Every film has its own journey. The more films you do, you realise that the only thing you can do is give your best while you’re working on it — give it your all, so that you don’t have any creative regrets or feel like you haven’t done your best,” Mohanan says. She adds, “But after that, the film really is in the hands of the film gods, it’s what I always say. You can’t control what happens after [a film is released].”

The 31-year-old further says, “For Thangalaan, I’m happy that I got an amazing response for my performance. It was one of the hardest roles I’ve ever done, being both physically and mentally challenging. If an audience can appreciate something like that, it makes one feel nice because, the harder the role, the more fear you have that it could backfire, but thankfully, it didn’t, and I’m grateful for that. As for Yudhra, it is what it is. Onto the next round.”

When asked if she sees box office numbers or reviews as a form of validation, Mohanan, who made her acting debut in the Malayalam film Pattam Pole (2013), explains, “I don’t. What connects me to a film is if it emotionally pulls me into the narrative and the characters,” adding, “But we live in a world now where everything is about numbers. Even if you or your family hasn’t connected to a film, but it’s made ₹100-200 crores, it’s considered a hit. We live in strange times where that’s (box office numbers) dictating what is a good or bad film, so one can’t help but pay attention to it. But I don’t let it affect me too much as long as I’m appreciated for my work in the film.””

Mohanan is currently juggling multiple projects and gearing up for her Telugu debut, The RajaSaab, opposite Prabhas, which is expected to be released in April, next year. She also has Sardar 2 in the pipeline.