Madonna: To be in the industry, I had to teach myself it’s OK to be seen

It’s been 10 years since Madonna Sebastian made her film debut with Premam. In conversation with us, the actress-singer reflects on completing a decade in films and more. She tells us, “I’m blessed that I go to work happy.

I’ve learnt a lot over these years.

As you learn, you understand that you know almost nothing. And you feel you want to explore more because you want to see what you’re capable of.”‘I was very shy and passive before Premam’Looking back, Madonna reflects on how her life has changed with and since Premam. “Premam changed everything for me. And it wasn’t planned, just like all the good things in life. It opened me up. Before that, I was very shy and passive even though I was involved with music and TV while growing up.

I wanted to be invisible back then. However, in order to be in the industry, I had to get out of my comfort zone and teach myself that it’s OK being seen.”‘I didn't collect an award because I was too shy to go on stage’She recalls, “Early in my career, I didn’t collect an award as I was too shy to go on stage. But today, I understand its importance. I always thought of myself as someone who is there to express art rather than to be celebrated as a celebrity,” she shares.

‘Heartin’s easy on the heart; Adhirshtasaali was shot with sync sound’On the work front, Madonna has finished shooting for the romcom, Heartin, and Mithran R Jawahar’s Adhirshtasaali, starring Madhavan. “Adhirshtasaali, shot in Scotland and London, was shot with sync sound. Heartin is a soft love story that’s easy on the heart,” she says.‘When committing to a film, I take my time to do the math’For Madonna, committing to a film is an instinctive process.

“Within five minutes, you get a feeling whether to commit to a film. But I take time to do the math — not money, but the pros and cons. But I take just a day to decide because I don’t like to keep people waiting,” she says.'A director will call you just because you network'The actress feels social media and networking don’t offer guaranteed success. “You’ve to be yourself; you can’t trick the audience. If you’re not authentic, they’ll know. Being visible is important, but I don’t think a director will call you just because you network,” she explains.