NAME the biggest names in Mollywood: Mohanlal, Mamooty, Dileep , Jayaram, and she has acted with them all. But, for reasons unknown, lady luck hasn’t smiled the same way on Vimala Raman for a career in Kollywood. Despite a dream introduction by K Balachandar (though it turned out to be a box office blooper) in 'Poi', things didn’t exactly take the fairytale route for her. But she’s back now, in a role said to be the most important of the five heroines, in 'Raman Thediya Seethai' (RTS). “In RTS, I play a girl from Nagercoil. It doesn’t affect me that I’m part of a star ensemble because it’s the culture even in Bollywood. Nothing’s wrong with it,” she explains.

And why did she take a break to do Malayalam movie all along after 'Poi'? “It’s true that I have taken time to do a Tamil movie after 'Poi' with Udhay Kiran happened. I did get offers here, but, by then, I had committed to eight entirely different movies in Malayalam. In Mollywood, they respect and focus on talent. Take the best from the country, be it actors or otherwise, they are from Kerala,” she says, adding that the role she received in Tamil were ‘normal, commercial ones’ as opposed to challenging roles beckoning her in God’s own country.

However, having completed her slew of roles in Malayalam, the actress is currently in Hyderabad, shooting for a movie with Jagapathy Babu, and says she does have a few offers to consider in Kollywood. “Now, I have offers for a thriller and a comedy. Likewise, I’m also discussing an interesting script for a Bollywood movie,” she explains.

Two years in filmdom and many movies up her sleeve, Vimala still has a grudge. “There’s no role that has exploited the dancer in me completely,” she rues, when asked about her passion for dance. For those not in the know, Vimala Raman been her training in classical dance and even performed at the Opening ceremony of the Olympics in Sydney, 2000.