Tia Sebastian has rejected quite a number of roles in movies, because she did not want to be that fat best friend of the leading lady who eats 10 masala dosas. She would rather be the bubbly Banjara dancer who inspires someone and dance all the way to Oscars.
This Mumbai-based actor, who hails from Thiruvambadi, a calm little upland village in Kozhikode district of Kerala, played a key role in the Gujarati movie Chello Show ( The Last Film Show), India’s official entry to the Oscars 2023. She plays ‘Lilamila’, a nomadic dancer who inspires the film-maker in ‘Samay’, a little boy in rural Gujarat, the protagonist of the film.
With 16 years of experience in theatre and quite a few films, web series and ad films in her kitty, Tia is not a newbie in the field. But it took an Oscar entry and a small role in the recent Malayalam hit Thallumala for her to be recognised by people back home. That’s because unlike most actors, acting in a movie did not cross her mind, until she started getting some offers. But yet, most roles offered were not to her liking.
