Veteran actor and dancer Sudha Chandran has made her micro-drama debut with Hisab Barabar, embracing a new storytelling format and adapting to the changing ways in which audiences consume content. From her early association with Mayuri to television and now micro-dramas, Chandran says she has always believed in exploring new mediums rather than staying within familiar territory.
Speaking exclusively to Zoom about what drew her to Hisab Barabar, Sudha Chandran revealed that curiosity and the opportunity to take on a new acting challenge were key factors behind her decision. “I have always believed that as an actor, one should never stop exploring. Every generation brings a new medium, a new audience and a new way of telling stories. When TukTuki approached me for Hisab Barabar, I was drawn to the challenge of telling a complete story in such a compact format,” she revealed.
The actor also pointed out that the biggest challenge of micro-dramas lies in their limited runtime. Unlike television, where actors can spend months or even years developing a character, or cinema, where a story has more room to breathe, micro-dramas demand immediate impact. “You have very little time to establish a character, communicate an emotion and leave an impact,” she explained.
For Chandran, however, that limitation is also what makes the format exciting. “Audiences today also consume content differently, so storytelling has to be sharper without becoming superficial. For me, Hisab Barabar was an opportunity to experience this changing landscape firsthand. I believe an actor should always remain curious about what comes next,” she shared.
Reflecting on how the experience compared with her work across television and long-format projects, Chandran shared that the biggest difference is undoubtedly the pace. “In television, you have the opportunity to live with a character for a long time and explore different shades of their personality. Cinema also gives you more space to build a character,” she opined adding that micro dramas leave very little room for anything unnecessary.
“With micro-dramas, everything has to be extremely precise. Every expression, line and moment has to contribute to the story because you don’t have the luxury of taking a long time to arrive at an emotion. That makes it challenging, but also exciting.”
Having witnessed several shifts in the entertainment industry throughout her career, Chandran sees micro-dramas as another evolution rather than a replacement for traditional formats. “From Mayuri to television and now to Hisab Barabar, I have seen storytelling evolve constantly. I don’t think one format is replacing another; they are simply creating new ways to connect with audiences,” she signed off.