Too real for reel life: maid in Saudi

Maid abuse now goes celluloid. And the actress who plays the role of the unfortunate househelp in the Malayalam [a South Indian language] movie said she went into depression while shooting for the film.

The movie 'Gaddama' narrates the real-life experience of an Indian woman who was tortured while working as a housemaid in Saudi Arabia.

Kavya Madhavan, a popular actress from the South Indian state of Kerala, said if acting out the role can be this tough, the real experience is something that no woman should go through.

“I went into depression by the time I completed shooting. I used to remain silent for most part of the day at home and on the sets, simply pondering over. It was a difficult situation. My mom constantly reminded me that I was just acting for a movie. If acting could bring about so much mental
stress, I wonder how difficult it is for a housemaid being abused and tortured,” she said.

Kavya told Emirates 24|7 that the film’s idea is to communicate to the audience an emotion, which they may not comprehend merely by news reports.

“We read stories about maid abuses in the Gulf frequently. But to know what exactly it is like, you must watch the movie. I hope I have done justice to the role. It was very challenging; especially when you are
acting out a real-life situation you cannot commit mistakes,” she said.

Most of the film was shot in the UAE, with some portions of the character’s life before she goes to the Gulf shot in Kerala.

“It was difficult to get permission to shoot in Saudi Arabia. So we preferred to do it in the UAE. There is so much more freedom here,” she added.

Gaddama, produced by PV Pradeep, is scheduled for release early next year. KU Iqbal has written the story and the script is by Kamal and K Gireesh Kumar.