A girl of many talents

YOU may recognise her for her acting roles, or may have seen her as a presenter on Astro Vinmeen, but there was a time when Agalyah Maniam was heading for a career in the corporate sector.

Agalyah had just earned her degree in accounting and finance, and was on her way to becoming an auditor in a multinational firm.

“I really thought I was going to pursue a career in auditing,” she said.

While she was still studying, she made a brief appearance in a short film titled Kathal Jakrethey, which starred her friend Yuvaraj Krishnasamy, who used it as part of his resume for acting opportunities.

Local director K. Kavi Nanthan saw the film, and thought that the photogenic Agalyah would be perfect for his next project.

Agalyah recalled: “While I was in my last semester at Sunway University I got a call from director Kavi during my semester break. He wanted to know if I was interested in acting.”

She said yes, and Kavi cast both Yuvaraj and her in another short film titled Venpa, which was released in February 2017.

She also starred in her first feature length Tamil film Jhangri, which was released later that year.

“I got a call from Astro asking me to audition for a job as a programme host.

“I never dreamed of becoming an actress or host. It is something that just happened.”

She then became well known as a TV presenter on the Tamil-language programme Vizhuthugal, and even starred in her second feature length film in 2019, an expanded version of Venpa, featuring the same cast and director.

When asked what made her turn to acting instead of a more stable career in auditing, Agalyah said: “I have this thing in me where I like to take up opportunities, I like to be adventurous. I don’t like staying in one place.

“When I was doing my internship, I realised that auditing was not for me. I am a people-oriented person. I was actually thinking of going into public relations or human resources.

“I don’t know if God heard me but that was around the time I got a call from the media industry. I developed an interest in acting after shooting for Venpa (the short film). So when the opportunity came my way, I grabbed it at the right time and made use of it.”

She believes that one should be open to exploring different things.