Kamala Saikhom : More than a Glamour Queen

Kamala Saikhom

Kamala is the glamour queen of Manipuri digital filmdom. She has given commendable performances in her rather long career in this industry. She has even tried her hands on direction. Her memorable films include "Nungsee Hekta Hairagey", "Nangsu Mounee", "Shakthibi Tampha", "Khujee" and others.

Kamala Saikhom
Name: Kamala Saikhom
Height: 5' 5
Date of Birth: 27th Jan
Hair Color: Black
Hobbies: Reading, Movies and Singing
Foods: Veg/Non Vegetarian
Address: Uripok
Film Works: Lalibadi Eini, Ta Tomba, Akhunba Mani and many more...
Photo Gallery Click here

"SEE THAT GIRL, WATCH THAT SCENE": MORE THAN A GLAMOUR QUEEN

The forecast made by Manipuri film aficionados when she first made her screen appearance was that she is soon going to be crowned the new age star. Every kids and youngsters agreed that her smile was infectious and she did indeed fused glamour and talent with ease. She has given commendable performances in Khujee, Nungsee Hekta Hairagey, Nangsu Mounee, Shakthibi Tampha, Akhunba Mani, Ta Tomba etc. Kamala Saikhom can be just the beautiful girl next door or a screen talent yet to explore new heights depending on where have you placed your telescopic eye(s).

It all began in the Leikai and school functions. She just loved dancing. One of her prominent first public dance performances was organized by Bright Films in 2000. By 2002, she stormed the Manipuri music video world. Her ability to perform before the moving cameras was recognised by all. "I have always wanted to dance and had in fact participated in a number of functions and competitions. It is another matter that I have not won any prize or award for dancing. But I think people loved watching me dance". Kamala expresses thoughtfully. She says that even before she got full fledged roles in films, she joined the Manipuri film industry as a junior artiste and had even danced behind some leading male and female actors. And then came a film called Saya in 2003. This was followed by another celluloid project titled Pakhang Number One, which unfortunately had to be shelved due to financial constraints faced by the producers.

Throughout her acting career, she has witnessed triumphant moments, moments of despair and hilarious experiences and she wishes to cherish them for long. "The most difficult part I had performed so far was for a film called Natephamda Tero, directed by Romi Meitei. In one of the last scenes, the character I played had to be hospitalised and it was a distressing scene of the character on death bed. As I was playing the role and had to perform the act of dying, I found it really difficult to stop breathing and closing my eyes…I kept thinking about the character...In the same film I had to learn how to stammer when I speak....Indeed it was one of the most difficult performances".

With that unmistakable smile, Kamala narrates one of the most hilarious incidents in her film career with all seriousness. "It was during the shooting of Ayukki Likla which was done at locations in Dimapur and Guwahati. After the shoot in Dimapur, all the artistes and the crew members headed for Guwahati on a bus. Our team included actors like Manda and Sadananda along with the all the technical staff. I had taken pills for travel sickness and I slept and slept throughout the journey. While we were somewhere at a place called Kala Pahar along the Dimapur and Guwahati highway, I suddenly sensed that someone was throwing flower petals on my face, I suddenly woke up and started yelling at friends and colleagues inside the bus and asked them to identify who was the person who did this stupid thing to me. When I regained perfect senses, everyone inside the bus were howling and shouting and there were tensions all around. They asked me to get off the bus as quickly as possible. Later I realised what was happening. The bus we were travelling met with an accident and I saw window glass splinters everywhere and the window next to mine were broke too. And some broken glass pieces stuck on my face. I then realized that it was not flower petals over my face but glass pieces from one of the windows that fell gently over my face. When I narrated the incident to the crew members, everyone had a hearty laugh. Fortunately, we were not badly injured and we continued the journey and completed the shoot."

Despite interesting stories from Kamala, she also has some concerns to share. On the state of digital film industry in Manipur, Kamala says that she is worried by the fact that there have has been a decline in the number of people going to the theatres to watch films. "Though there has been qualitative difference from the past in terms of production, I see that very few people, now a days, actually go to watch a film in the public theatres or halls. This fact not only worries me but also the entire film fraternity including producers, directors and everyone involved". When asked what are the possible causes for these developments, she says, "Perhaps, the probable cause of this phenomenon is the easy availability of our films on pirated CDs and DVDs. Even some of my friends say that they love watching my films not on theatres or halls but at home after borrowing or buying a copy."

Kamala finds most film directors are good and she has fine working relations with most of them. She, however, finds Romi Meitei's work interesting. Some filmmakers find it difficult to direct her in a comic role and she confesses that comedy is not her strength. She likes all her male co-actors and feels she has many more things to learn from every interaction she has had with them. Apart from acting, Kamala loves watching films, TV programmes and cooking. But her biggest dream is to open an acting school or academy in Manipur sometime in the near future. She says, "I have realized that there are many young talents that need to be nurtured. They need our help. I have a plan to open an acting school where these talents can learn not only the art of acting but also everything associated with film making."

Being an artiste, Kamala says she can not free herself from social responsibilities. She is primarily concerned with growing social unrest, violence and political situation in Manipur. She is not happy about the fact that due to the volatile political situations in Manipur, many people have to face the burden of getting harassed for no rhyme of reason. She has a couple experiences on that. "The so called enforcers of law and order in the state, particularly some of the armed forces have scant suspect for artistes in the state. There was one incident where these people were not respectful of our film crew members and they only harassed the unit members including the drivers." This is not the only concern she has. "Despite so many problems, there are many youths in our society who have fallen prey to the menace of violence, drug and substance abuse. These people need proper care and guidance. We should try to understand their problems and try to examine the varied causes, be it unemployment, personal tragedies or any other reasons." Besides her own future, Kamala also wishes Manipur to witness peace and prosperity.

Polls

Who is the Best Actress?

  • * Abenao
  • * Binata
  • * Devita
  • * Kamala
  • * Manda
  • * Sonia
  • * Sunila



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