“Purampokku is a serious, poignant story,” says Karthika Nair

Karthika Nair, who shares screen space with Arya, Vijay Sethupathi and Shaam in SP Jananathan’s Purampokku, reveals in an interview that her character is named after a famous freedom fighter.”It’s a male-centric film with one other woman in the cast. My character Kuyili is named after the freedom fighter, who in her suicide attack killed several British soldiers,” says Karthika.

“It is not a conventional heroine role. There are no flowing saris or extensive make-up, nor are there any dreamy song-and-dance sequences. I play Kuyili, a socially conscious rebel with Rajasthani roots, who needs to compete with the other three lead characters in her fight for justice. With a name like Purampokku, I felt it would be a light-hearted rom-com with Arya. But only after the narration did I realise it was a serious, poignant story,” adds Karthika Nair.