Sanjana Dipu on her turn as Roslin in the web series after a hiatus of seven years since ‘Moothon’

The last time we saw Sanjana Dipu on screen was in 2019, as the 14-year-old Mulla in Moothon. Fast forward seven years, and she is back with the Malayalam web series Roslin, streaming on JioHotstar, and Bandwale, streaming on Amazon Prime. 

“I was in my second year of undergrad during Moothon. After that film, I completed my education. The pandemic followed, and I started working… so, yes, I was busy with a lot of other stuff,” says the Bengaluru-based actor. Both series came her way around the same time two years ago and dropped two weeks apart in February and March.

Sanjana’s ‘comeback’ has made an impression. She is Roslin, a teenager troubled by disturbing dreams which haunt her. Nothing in her performance gives away the fact that she was returning to acting after a gap of almost five years. Roslin, directed by Sumesh Nandakumar and written by lyricist Vinayak Sasikumar, stars Vineeth and Meena, along with Sanjana and Hakkim Shah.  

Of how she landed the role, she says, “I have been following lyricist Vinayak Sasikumar on Instagram; I have been fangirling over his work. He follows me as well, and one day, out of the blue, he asked if I could audition for the project (Roslin).” She liked the gist of the story, found the script interesting and attended the JioHotstar audition.

Although she had acted in one film before, returning after a break, especially with a pivotal role that would have her shoulder the series, came with its apprehensions. “I had some fears in my head. The first was would I be able to carry it off, looks-wise? Then there are spaces where there are no dialogues, just emotional acting. .” But, as the series proves, her fears were misplaced. She conveys fear and anxiety effortlessly.  

She credits it to attending casting director Atul Mongia’s acting workshop before Moothon. “Sir [Atul] taught us to get comfortable with ourselves before attempting to take up a role and become that character. And that helped me with the role!” Sanjana was aware that taking the role would be a long process.  The fear was not just about how she would be Roslin; it was also about acting alongside veterans like Vineeth and Meena, who essay her parents in the series. “It was fear stemming from respect. These are people whose films I watched growing up. That fear turned to mutual understanding and then love. Even with Hakkim chettan.”

Working with seniors came with a set of payoffs. For instance, Vineeth gave her a valuable tip which only an actor could give. “He told me not to act/emote too much during a long shot. He said it was great that I was able to do it, but in the long run it would be draining for me as an artist.  

Calling herself a director’s actor, she says that Sumesh’s feedback was crucial for her. That she shared a rapport with him helped in a big way, “He knew exactly what he wanted. Even with Vineeth sir and Meena ma’am, who have worked with many other directors, he was able to pick out what he wanted.” 

Another series she started working on a couple of years ago was the Hindi series Bandwale, about a motley group of musicians who form a band. She is Cynthia, the younger sister of the lead, a young poet Mariam, played by Shalini Pandey. The director is Akshat Verma, the writer of Delhi Belly. “I auditioned for Mariam’s role, but the makers felt that since I looked younger they offered me Cynthia’s role. It was a fun set, I had a blast working on it.” 

Her co-stars are Ashish Vidyarthi, Swanand Kirkire and Zahaan Kapoor. She was the Malayalam expert on the set because Mariam and Cynthia belong to a Malayali family based in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh. “They would come up to me ask these doubts, words to use and which would work better etc.”  

For now, she is savouring the moment as she listens to scripts in Malayalam, Hindi and other languages looking for the one that will excite her.  

Roslin is streaming on JioHotstar and Bandwale is on Prime