There was nothing like what was shown in Fashion: Sana Thampi

Sana Thampi says her parents' concerns about her career in modelling were influenced by its portrayal in films

Sana Thampi, who made her debut in Kiran Rao’s directorial within the Lust Stories 3 anthology, is glad that she hasn’t received any bad reviews about her role in the film. In Sana’s segment, she portrayed the character of Lisa, a nail artist who moved from Kerala to Mumbai. Part of this is also true in real life. Sana is from Kerala and has now shifted her base to Mumbai. Talking about being guided by Kiran Rao in her debut project, she says that the director “handheld” her through the project. “I felt very guided through the process. When the team cast me, they were well aware that this was my first project ever. She had a very clear and precise understanding of who this character is. It was very much seen in the script, too, when I read it. There was no ambiguity that I felt in terms of who I was portraying,” she says.

Sana Thampi

The segment involved a lot of choreographed intimate scenes, and Thampi is appreciative to have intimacy coordinators on the set to guide her through it. “Their role was very significant to me... I felt a lot more confident and at ease with shooting these kinds of scenes. It is also a very necessary where the ask the actors what we are comfortable with. If at all you say, ‘I don’t have any boundaries’, they will be like, ‘it doesn’t work that way. Find your boundaries’. They very much work within the framework of what you are comfortable with.”

Sana was born and raised in Kochi, Kerala, in a very traditional household. An architecture graduate in life, she fought her battles at home to pursue her career in modelling and then slowly transitioned to acting. “My parents were a little apprehensive about me pursuing modelling. It was a completely unknown world. Besides, there was this film Fashion (2008) that painted the worst picture of the industry. I don’t know if it was true or not for that generation, but by the time I came into modelling, social media was a very prominent player. I am glad to report that it wasn’t resembling much of that film,” she shares.

She adds that her parents’ idea of what the fashion industry was, was based on what the media and the films portrayed. “I fought those battles with my parents very early on in my career. By the time I had to make a transition into acting, I had no battles to be fought,” she admits. Sana also mentions that with a name like Kiran Rao associated with the project gave her parents additional confidence. “I am sure that in their head, it helped that there were names like Kiran Rao attached to the project. They also felt like it is going to go well,” says Sana, who is also proud of the fact that her parents can see her dreams come true. Ask her about what her parents’ reaction was after they saw their daughter become an actor, she says, “They are happy for me. To them, it’s just that I have been in front of the camera for so long; I don’t think it makes that much of a difference.”