It’s action for Amy Jackson: The actor on her love affair with Indian films

Amy Jackson in a still from ‘Achcham Enbadhu Illaye’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The British flag is flying high inside Binny Mills at Perambur, Chennai. A location that has featured in prominent Tamil cinema sequences earlier, this place has been re-created as a London prison set, spread over 2.5 acres, for the shoot of upcoming Tamil film, Achcham Enbadhu Illaye.

Amy Jackson strides confidently into this jail set, reportedly put up at a cost of over 3.5 crore, on a late Monday evening. In a black blazer and crisp white shirt, she is all set to shoot a high-octane action sequence. Amy has had been in the same costume for the last 40 days, since which she began shooting for this Vijay-directional starring Arun Vijay.

A month and a half ago, Amy landed from London and headed straight to the London sets in Chennai. “Funny, isn’t it,” she says, in her trademark crisp British accent, “Just to enter this set and watch the British flag fly high, right here in Chennai, feels so surreal.”

However, this was not always the plan. The makers of this Tamil film had originally planned to shoot this action thriller in London, but the logistics did not fall in place. “I remember Vijay calling me and saying that he had this new film and that it would be shot in London. I was like, ‘Great, that’s going to be easy.’ Then, things changed, and we had to shoot the same sequences right here in Chennai…” she says.

Amy Jackson
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

The trip to India has sparked off several pleasant memories for Amy, who made her debut in the 2010 Tamil film Madrasapattinam, also directed by Vijay. “I was so excited because this was the place where my film journey began.”

In Achcham Enbadhu Illaye, Amy will play Sandra James, a prison guard who is a key character in an action thriller, packed with emotion. “I know every actor will tell you, ‘Oh, I have fallen in love with the script’, but I joined this first because it was Vijay’s film and I know he has the best interests in his heart for me. The script is also kickass, has so much scope for action, having four major sequences woven into it.” Her tryst with martial arts and boxing came in handy while shooting them. “We’ve not held back at all.”

Women uninterrupted

Amy has been to India multiple times since her debut film outing, sharing screenspace with some of the country’s biggest stars including Rajinikanth ( 2.0), Vikram ( I) and Dhanush ( Thanga Magan). “There’s no place like India. The energy as soon as you land is electrifying, and you don’t get that anywhere else in the world.” During her visit, she says she visited a city temple on Maha Shivaratri day. “I just felt the need to sit by quietly and reflect, and landed up at a temple that day. Though it was anything but quiet, it was an amazing and powerful experience to be part of the puja.”

Amy Jackson and Rajinikanth in ‘2.0’

She hopes to pass on this connection to India to her son, Andreas, who accompanied her to Chennai. Amy became a mother in 2019, an experience she describes as ‘life-changing.’ “He (Andreas) is at the forefront of every decision I make these days. Having him in India and exposing him to this country and culture at such a young age is something that can never be learnt in a classroom. I’m a big believer in gender equality and it’s so lovely that he is seeing his mother work and provide. It’s going to be great for his upbringing.”

Amy is vocal about issues that she cares about. She recently signed up to support the Chennai-based International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care, which works for women affected by domestic and interpersonal violence. And she posts her views on social media, from whales facing a crisis in the Faroe Islands to showcasing her solidarity with Iranian women during the Mahsa Amini protests last year.

Why does she feel the need to do that? “It’s great to entertain, and that’s beautiful, but celebrities, with the kind of following they have, also need to have some kind of social impact,” she says, adding “On social media, there is so much of fake news, judgement on other people’s lives and trolling that we, as public personalities, need to post with a sense of responsibility.”