Amyra Dastur has an irrepressible spirit. None of her films since her debut Isaaq have done well at the box office but she never let it affect her and goes about her work with loads of positivity. She plays a significant lead role in Manjula’s Manasuki Nacchindi that releases this month. “I know my movies didn’t fare well but people did notice me. That kept me going. Let us see how my next film goes,” she says.
She was only 20 when she was offered Anegan starring Dhanush and directed by KV Anand. She had to miss her exams to take up this project; she was doing B Com. “I promised my mother that I would finish my studies no matter what. After Anegan released, I did get many offers and so many people were disappointed because I wasn’t taking up their projects. My dad is a doctor and I believe education is important. Acting has been my dream but no matter what happens, one must get a degree and then do what you want. I was practising Kung Fu and yoga and also travelling — so lost almost a year and a half of academics,” she recollects.
Amyra works out every day and says she gets very anxious, so needs to release that energy. Reminding how stressed the actors are in this profession she terms her workout as a sort of meditation. “Physically sweating it out makes me happy. I love dancing. I started dancing when I was 17 and would practice for long hours. I have learnt basics of classical dance but I love the typical film dances. It is a dream to do a mass dance.”
Amyra sounds excited talking about Manasuki Nacchindi, “It is a woman film. There is a lot of maturity and emotion in it and my character is intricate and has depth. I am really happy to do this role. I genuinely believe that women have the ability to take the industry forward. It is a women empowering film and it is good on Sundeep Kishan’s part to come on board. We worked one month in Goa, 15 days in Kerala and some portion in Hyderabad. Me and my character in this film is are poles apart. I am definitely not Nitya. Nitya has a very positive outlook on life…who will find a solution. I am in real life a stressed out person. Nitya believes in slow motion dances and yoga whereas I am into hip hop.”
Amyra wants to make a mark in all south films but doesn’t want to take up a film for the sake of it. If there are no good films, she’d rather travel the world, she says. She wrapped up Rajma Chawal by Leena Yadav and stresses that it has no similarities with Saif-starrer Chef.
Quite pleasantly, Amyra has so far worked only with female directors – Manjula, Sanjana and Leena.