Nithya Menen gets nostalgic as ‘Ala Modalaindi’ completes 15 years

As Ala Modalaindi completes 15 years, actress Nithya Menen shared a nostalgic Instagram post recalling the film that marked the beginning of her career. She reflected on its making, friendships, and how success changed her life.

Hyderabad: Actress Nithya Menen has now penned a heartfelt post about her Telugu film ‘Ala Modalaindi’, on the occasion of the film completing 15 years.

Taking to her Instagram page to share her thoughts on the film, the actress wrote, “Ala modalaindi means ‘And so, it began’. The ‘leela’ of the Universe, I guess, giving me a movie named like that. A movie where it all really began.”

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The actress said, “@nandureddyy and I talk all the time about what it was like back then. Nobody knew who we were, nobody cared. Most people didn’t understand at all what we were trying to make. We were attempting to make a rom-com, which I think until then was not done at all in Telugu, and most other languages as well. So no one cared.”

She further added, “We went to Irani Chai most days after shoot and just chilled there until late, ate Subway sandwiches for lunch. I even remember our orders. It was the exact same order every day. We improvised so much on the spot. Rewrote scenes 15 mins before shooting them. It was amazing. No pressure. None of us was a ‘somebody’, so we did what we wanted. We were fully ourselves.”

Recalling how her friend’s words came true, she said, “One day, we stopped at a tiny Subway outlet by the side of a very busy road to pick up lunch before shoot. And Nandini told me to go inside and get it. ‘You won’t be able to walk freely into any restaurant like this anymore. Go buy it yourself’, she said. It sounded absurd to me. It never, ever, ever occurred to me that I could be recognised one day or that people might want to see me. I didn’t really want it. My plan was to do small offbeat films, be relatively unknown, be free, take walks, sit in cafes by myself and read…. BUT. then. came. Ala Modalaindi. And nothing was the same ever again. And so, it began indeed. 15 years of Ala Modalaindi!”