'DO WHAT YOUR HEART SAYS'

AN ACTOR, MODEL, DANCER AND POET, HERE'S THE YOUNG AND BUBBLY SAMYUKTHA VISWANATHAN IN A CANDID CONVERSATION WITH PROVOKE MAGAZINE

- KIRUBAKSHINI

1. What has been your biggest challenge in pursuing multiple creative endeavors, and how have you overcome it?

My biggest challenge is myself. It's very easy to get demotivated in creative pursuits, especially when you keep doing it for yourself but eventually need people to see and recognise your work. You have to keep picking yourself up. I've been struggling to get my poetry published and so far only one has got selected somewhere. Initially I was demotivated, but I had a good support system in my family, career, and a few friends who were pushing me forward and that kept me going.

2. Can you share a specific moment or project that you are particularly proud of in your career so far?

For both acting and poetry, there's a project called "Home" that I worked on. It's a poetry short film where I had several people participate pro bono or out of their own interest. The film was directed by KK, my director/mentor from a little theater who is now an actor. He visualized the concept and directed it. We had a talented music director, Jerry, who also composed music for the Tamil film "The Great Indian Kitchen", and an excellent editor, Aravind. I remember all of these people who believed in the project and just did it. The concept was based on a poem that I wrote, and I also acted in the film. It won a few awards in film festivals both domestically and internationally, which was really cool.