Vanambadi fame Jelina: Even today, people don't know my real name; they call me Thamburu

Remember the evil Thamburu of Vanambadi? The little girl who used to torture the main protagonist, Anumol, a lot? The Malayali audience had every reason to hate her. Even after years, even after the little girl became a teenager, she is still the same Thamburu for viewers.

ETimes got the then child actress Jelina for a quick chat as she reminisces about her acting journey that started off when she was just 3.5 years old.Jelina started her acting career playing the daughter of Sajan Surya in the popular show 'Kumkumapoovu.' After the evergreen show, she quickly gained attention as a child artist with her characters in shows like Chandanamazha and Satyam Shivan Sundaram. Malootty and more.

However, it was Thamburu from Vanambadi that made her a household name among the Malayali audience."I feel so blessed that I got to play a character like Thamburu. Even today, most people don't know my name; they love to call me Thamburu. Though they didn't like Thamburu for torturing Anumol, they all loved me," Jelina said.Along with the overwhelming responses, Jelina also remembers getting some 'hurtful' pinches from viewers, too.

"During Vanambadi, people would recognize me as Thamburu and come talk to me just as if I were one of their family members. But, once, when I went to a shopping mall with my family, a lady came to me and pinched me, asking, "Why are you troubling Anumol like this?" Though she did it out of love, it hurt me a lot, and my eyes got welled up. I asked my mom why she did it. Amma consoled me that it is a recognition of my character. Though it hurt a lot, I was happy that people had accepted my character," she added.Though the character has negative shades, the acting prowess of the little girl was well appreciated by viewers. From emotional scenes to dramatic sequences, Jelina managed to leave a lasting impression on the audience."Back then, I didn't know anything about acting. What I did was, before every shot, I would think, 'What will I do if this situation ever happens to me?' This helps me enact. I even made sure not to use glycerin much, as it would bring artificiality to the scene," says the one who played Thamburu at the age of 11.Lastly, Jelina was seen playing Parukutty in the show Mounaragam. Though she had taken a break from the industry because of her class XII exams, she shares that she would put her best efforts into taking acting along with her studies.