I Didn’t Use Glycerine Earlier But I Need It Now: Mamta Mohandas

Mamta Mohandas’ latest Live (2023), which chronicles how a girl’s life turns upside down overnight because of fake news, is running in theatres. Speaking to Film Companion, Mamta says that great performers are always looking for some imperfection in their lives.

Mamta asserts that the actors tend to look within, and use feelings from their personal moments to bring out the emotions on screen. “Sometimes what makes you a better actor is also that you retain your emotions from some moments of your life and you keep a part of yourself fractured. It is a process of acting. They recruit that emotion to become a better artist,” she says.

Recalling how her life and acting process changed when she shifted to LA in 2014, the Forensic actor reveals that at one point, she was so happy that she found it difficult to act. “I experienced another level of bliss when I went to LA. I was so happy that when it came to being empathetic at that point for a particular role, it was difficult to recruit the painful memories or incidents. I had become so happy that I couldn’t dig any painful memories. Earlier, I didn’t use any glycerine, but now I need it. Similarly, when my character is in any situation, I have to act now and not just behave.”

Mamta further added that as an actor, she always seeks imperfection in her personal life and this trait could be common in the acting community. She says, “When you are seeing something perfect, you let it go. I have always wondered what in me is constantly searching for imperfection. The advantage for actors is that when they keep their life in the middle of what’s real and unreal, it brings a great performer out of them. Those who don’t have that advantage will go in search of it by breaking their lives in different ways. Self-sabotaging will help you become a better performer on camera.”