I had a very secure and protected upbringing on the island. “When I came here, I realised life can be harsh. However, Chennai was totally different from what she had imagined, she says. I think she agreed to send me only because of that.” “By this time, we had come to know that my brother was in Chennai, and I assured my mother that I will find him and bring him back.

Though that gave my family some confidence in them, they still didn’t allow me to go to Chennai.”Īfter a year, with the support of her mother, Sonia decided to come to Chennai, after all. Meanwhile, my dad fell ill and just as family members do, the crew called on my father. They kept visiting us along with their family members. For people on the island, the entertainment industry is not something that they want their children to be in. My dad was furious and said no immediately. With the help of a known person, they reached home and tried convincing my dad. “I was scared and told them to contact my parents. And that is how it all began,” says Sonia. “Spotting me, they reversed the car and asked me whether I would be interested in acting in a film. Sonia says that she was on her way to the school, and was waiting for the bus at a stop close to her house when a film crew passed by in a car. Everything went topsy-turvy and, that was the time that I was spotted by a film crew that was on a location hunt on the island.” Unfortunately, one of my brothers went missing and that kind of messed up things in the family. My dad is a businessman and I have two elder brothers.

It’s a very small place, with very few people, and everyone knows one another. “Life on the island is totally different from that here (Chennai). However, it was a chance meeting with a film crew that piqued her interest and led her to pursue a career as an actor. For, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where she hails from, entertainment meant watching Hindi serials, she recalls. She’d never ever dreamt of being an actor. Sonia talks to us about her foray into television and her Kollywood debut. All thanks to the popularity of her character, Divya.

The television serial, Azhagi, which was aired on a popular TV channel for about five years, is now being aired online. Actress Sonia Vikram has reasons to smile.

Azhagi serial