Nithya Menen is set to reunite with her Thiruchitrambalam co-star Dhanush in her upcoming film, Idli Kadai. The film marks Dhanush's fourth directorial venture after Pa Paandi, Raayan and the yet-to-be-released Nilavukku Enmel Ennadi Kobam. Nithya Menen had won the National Award for her acting in Thiruchitrambalam. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, the actress shared her experience of working with Dhanush on Idli Kadai. On whether there is a difference between Dhanush as an actor and a director, Nithya said, “It's the same for me. He is a very familiar person. He is my friend. I think we are all people who don't stick to one role. We are very collaborative. We are people with multiple talents. We always contribute to everything. It's just a natural progression. I didn't see any separate versions of him but filming was fun.”
Nithya Menen added, “Dhanush is one person who truly sees the potential I have, and he pushes it. He pushes that limit and it throws me off. He does that all the time. With Thiruchitrambalam, I really had to move out of my comfort zone to play that character because her body language and mannerisms were very different from mine. I had to come away from that and go into the character's social and economic background. Then, in this film, he pushes me further. It's like when you are learning to swim and someone suddenly throws you into the water so you just figure out how to swim. Working with Dhanush feels like it, he says, ‘It's because I know you can do it'.”
Nithya Menen stated that Dhanush wanted her to do a “completely different” role in Idli Kadai. “I ask him why can't I just be myself, and he says, ‘Anybody can give you that. I will give you things which people can't imagine that Nithya can do. It's going to be something completely different.' With Idli Kadai, I think it's gonna be a treat for everyone. People will feel it's not something we imagined her doing,” concluded the actress.
Nithya Menen also addressed the issue of women's safety in the industry. The actress said, "I have never felt unsafe anywhere. Nobody is going to attack you. You are actually very protected in a film set because there are a lot of people around - a lot of women, a lot of men. When I started, there were hardly any women. There used to be one woman on set, which was your hairdresser. There was never anyone else. Today, it feels nice to see so many more women on a film set. (It) feels nicer."
Idli Kadai's music is composed by GV Prakash Kumar. The film is bankrolled by Aakash Baskaran of Dawn Pictures under the banner of Dhanush's Wunderbar Films. The film will hit theatres on February 28, 2025.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)