Sai Pallavi recalls being worried about her acne, voice, looks: ‘I was a very insecure person’

Director Alphonse Puthren developed a cult following with his 2015 Malayalam film Premam, which featured Nivin Pauly and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles. In a recent interview, Sai gave the filmmaker and his movie the credit for making her feel confident about her looks. Sai also spoke about being ‘a very insecure person’ before she filmed for Premam with Alphonse. Also read: Sai Pallavi talks about physical and verbal abuse as she opens up on MeToo movement

Sai, who is one of the most sought after actors in the south Indian film industry, and has made her mark with films such as Kali, Paava Kadhaigal, Shyam Singha Roy and Gargi, opened up about her experience of working Alphonse Puthren. When asked how the filmmaker helped her, the actor revealed she was insecure about her voice, acne and how she looked before working on Alphonse’s Premam. She added that it was the appreciation that she received for her makeup-free appearance in Premam that made her confident about her looks.

In an interview with Film Companion, Sai said, “I was a very insecure person. I had a lot of doubts about everything like any teenager. My voice, the way I look, my acne, all of that. But I know that when a director picks you for a film, he has so much of hope and confidence in you that ‘this girl is something’, and when the audience cheers for you…I saw them clap, and I was like ‘it is just me on screen, they are clapping for me’. It was a very surreal moment. So, I realised that people love you beyond your skin, how you are as a person in the sense of the physical aspect… that helped me become much more confident as a person… I feel confident right now because of Alphonse.”

In the same interview, Sai said that she doesn’t use makeup in many films, and that directors with whom she has worked never insisted on her applying makeup. Sai is often praised by her fans for her no-makeup look. In fact, her acne had been the point of focus since she appeared in the Malayalam film Premam. According to some reports in 2019, she had refused to endorse a face cream despite being offered a whopping sum.

Sai Pallavi was seen as a school teacher in Tamil film Gargi last year. Gargi was released in theatres on July 15, 2022. Several reports says that Sai may play a crucial role in the second part of the Telugu film, Pushpa: The Rule, alongside Allu Arjun, Fahadh Faasil and Rashmika Mandanna.