Yet to recover from shock of getting award: Aparna Balamurali

KOCHI: Aparna Balamurali, who was named the Best Actress in this year's National Awards, said that she is yet to recover from the shock of the national award. Speaking to the media from the location of her new film, Aparna thanked the audience and director Sudha Kongara who entrusted her with the film.

"Yesterday was a life changing day. My phone call history itself has changed. Many superstars called and texted to congratulate me. I was selected for the film after two auditions. There was a year of training. We started shooting after all that," Aparna said.

"I felt sad that the film did not get released in theatres. I acted with a big actor like Suriya sir and I was sad that I could not watch it in theatres with his fans. I want to continue doing films that influence people. Such films have come from Malayalam. I had taken a gap of one year for Soorarai Pottru. Jayaramettan (actor Jayaram) and Kalidas were the first to call on the night of the film's release. Several feminist characters are being created in Malayalam. I've heard that female actors are facing discrimination in Malayalam cinema in the name of remuneration," Aparna added.