It’s been slightly more than 24 hours since the release of Archana Kavi’s six-episode web series, Meenaviyal, when we meet and she looks very happy. “And overwhelmed by the response. The number of subscribers to my YouTube channel has shot up from 48,000-odd to more than a lakh after the release!” she says. She didn’t expect so many to take to the six-episode series, so quickly.

Meenaviyal, slang for ‘meanwhile’’, tells the story of siblings Amritha and Arun, and what happens when Arun moves into his older sister’s apartment. The story is simple but engaging. Unlike her earlier web series Toofan Mail, which was in English, this one is a combination of Malayalam and English (Manglish).

“It is a slice of life, the kind of thing people can relate to and this time language is not a barrier like in the case of Toofan Mail,” says Archana. Manglish would make it accessible to non-Malayalam viewers as well.

The actor, who made her debut with Neelathamara, is enjoying her role as content creator. It is something, she says, which trumps acting ‘hands down’. “Creating is more powerful, more tiring also but all the more enjoyable.” The series has been directed by Abhishek Nair. “Once the script is done, I step back and become an actor. I stay off even when I am asked something about a dialogue or something, then they remind me ‘you wrote the story.’”

She confesses there is plenty of personal stuff in Meenaviyal, especially in the brother-sister relationship. “I also have an Amritha in my life but that is my elder brother. He is barely a year-and-a-half older than me but he used to boss me. The song that Arun (Arun Kurian) sings, one that their parents made for them...my parents have one for me, I just changed Archana to Amritha. This is my comeback for my brother.”

The chemistry that Archana and Arun share, as siblings, is hard to miss. “I was meeting him for the first time, he may look shy and poised but there’s a devil in him,” Archana says fondly.

Amritha, Archana’s character in the series, is a psychologist. She is shown counselling patients at her workplace – a mother-daughter duo, a married couple, several young people. It goes a long way in normalising the idea of going to a mental health professional.

The psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals she met during the course of her treatment for anxiety and depression inspired her. “These people would be so in control – unsmiling, strict and stern. I would wonder how their lives would be, so I thought of making Amritha a psychologist. I wondered how their lives would be, what if their lives were not so in control as they look!”

She has been open about dealing with anxiety and depression, she has even posted on her Instagram handle about it. She refuses to be bogged down by perceptions. “I don’t care, I am open about mental health issues and how much I have suffered. It is a chemical imbalance, there is nothing to hide. Those with mental health issues are very hard on themselves. If I can impact at least one person to seek help...”

A couple of friends called her up asking for details about the clinic, MiBo, which features in the show as Amritha’s office. Archana was unwell at the time the series was being shot, and even when she wrote it, “I was coming out of anxiety and depression...I just had to do something, so I wrote it and got down to work. It was a tough time and the entire team was supportive. At the preview I was very overwhelmed. Hats off to the team.”

The series has been produced by Eastern and her husband, Abish Mathew, “I wanted Abish to be part of it, in some way.” Abish encouraged her, pushed her...telling her that she had it in her to create content even when she wasn’t sure, since as actor she was used to having content handed to her.

She started her channel a couple of years ago. Its trajectory shows how Archana is working towards finding her space as content creator. Some of her shows, besides travel and a few make-up vlogs, include ‘Talk with Archie’ and ‘It’s Your Line’.

Feedback for Meenaviyal has been good, there’s one compliment she can’t stop smiling about, “That it is something like a Priyadarshan film.”

For now, it is time for a little break after which she gets down to work creating content for a reality show for a soon-to-be launched OTT platform and a script too. She wants to write across genres, push boundaries. Acting? “I am open to acting, if an interesting role comes my way. Like they say actors are beggars,” she jokes.

The conversation veers toward online nastiness. “Fortunately, the comments have been generous. When I posted about a slab of concrete falling on the car I was travelling in...there was some viciousness but otherwise not bad.”

The inevitable question — will there be a season two to Meenaviyal? “I don’t know...it depends on Eastern.”