16 July,2025 08:26 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Nithya Menen on receiving national award
Nithya Menen is one of the most versatile actresses with a charming on-screen presence. She has worked in movies across Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu. The actress added a glorious feather to her hat as she received a National Award for her performance in Thiruchitrambalam, which also starred Dhanush. As they collaborate again for Idly Kadai, Nithya shared how she is learning to make cow dung cakes for her role. She even revealed that she had manure under her nails when she received the National Award.
In an interview with Cinema Vikatan, she shares, "For Idly Kadai, I learnt how to make cow dung cakes. They asked me if I was willing to do it, and I said yes, of course. So, for the first time in my life, I learned how to roll and round them up with bare hands," she said as an example.
She also revealed that she shot a scene with dung right before she flew to Delhi for the National Awards. The Mission Mangal actress reveals, "In fact, the day before I had to go for the National Awards, I was doing this scene. It's so amazing that I had cow dung in my fingernails when I went to accept my National Award. That is so beautiful, right? That is life. I loved the diversity of experience I got from this film. I wouldn't get an opportunity to do this otherwise."
Idly Kadai is written, directed, co-produced, and stars Dhanush in the lead role. Apart from Nithya, Arun Vijay, Shalini Pandey, Sathyaraj, Parthiban, P. Samuthirakani, and Rajkiran also star in it. The film will release in theatres on 1 October. This is the second time Nithya is collaborating with Dhanush after the 2022 film Thiruchitrambalam, which won her a National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance. However, after she bagged the award, some netizens expressed disappointment as they felt Sai Pallavi deserved one for Gargi. She dealt with the conversation calmly, stating how netizens are free to express their views.
Workwise, the actress also has Thalaivan Thalaivii with Vijay Sethupathi, which is scheduled for release by the end of July.
