Actor Anagha Maya Ravi opens up about her latest movie, ‘Alappuzha Gymkhana’ and more

It was quite a task for actor Anagha Maya Ravi to find some time to sit down for a chat — floating between theatre visits and events promoting her latest movie, Alappuzha Gymkhana, directed by Khalid Rahman.

Affectionately guiding her friend’s golden retrievers Layla and Tesla to their enclosure, Anagha opened the gates to her friend’s place in Fort Kochi where we finally agreed to meet, following multiple rescheduled calls.

“Every day, when I wake up and look back at things that happened the day before, I am grateful. I never thought about movie promotions when I started my acting career. It is very overwhelming. But when I see the love people have for me, it strengthens me to do it all over again the next day,” says Anagha, who plays Natasha, a bubbly 20-year-old boxer in this sports comedy flick.

The actor, who made her debut two years ago with the Mammootty-Jyothika starrer Kaathal-The Core, moved to Kochi from Chalakudy in Thrissur at a young age but returned owing to personal reasons. However, this move frustrated Anagha, as she lacked opportunities for extracurricular activities, especially sports, in the new school.

Ultimately, she dropped out of school, when her father Ravikumar KB arranged for homeschooling, “losing patience for me”, recalls Anagha, who currently resides in Kochi.

“As a kid, I thought I will make a career out of sports. My focus was on the 100-metre sprint. I was part of the basketball and volleyball teams and used to play badminton as well. My father ensured I tried all kinds of sports and even dance too,” says Akku, as she is called by her friends.

Coincidentally, Anagha’s foray into acting was through dance as a teenager during an ad shoot with Dulquer Salmaan and Martin Prakkat. She was among the few selected from her street dance crew, Rock Paper Scissors, to join Mamangam, actor Rima Kallingal’s dance studio in Kochi. Skilled in b-boying, a variant of hip-hop dancing, Anagha has also participated in dance battles in cities such as Bengaluru and Mumbai.

Anagha Maya Ravi in the short film New Normal
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Later, the actor delivered a commendable performance in the short film, New Normal, exploring themes such as relationships and sexuality. She also did a pivotal role in the 2024 release Anweshippin Kandethum. In Appuram, directed by Indu Lakshmi, which premiered at the 29th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in 2024, she portrayed the inner turmoil of a teenager, Janaki, scared of losing her mother. “I had to keep a balance between restraint and immaturity as demanded by Indu ma’am,” says Anagha, whose familial connections to acting and cinema extend to writers Jayaraman Kadambat and poet Sachidanandan Puzhankara, who scripted Pranayavarnangal, and also Malayalam theatre legend Surasu.

Anagha received a call from Alappuzha Gymkhana’s associate directors while acting in Appuram. “I was informed that it would be a movie about boxing with three female leads and one of them would be a boxer. I had an intuition that the boxer’s role was meant for me,” says Anagha. “I was looking forward to something like this. I have been wanting an image-breaking role as well.”

A still from Appuram
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The actor’s groovy boxing sequences in the ‘Panjara punch’ song video grabbed eyeballs on social media even before the movie released.

“I got connected to boxing through dance. It’s just rhythm. From the moment Jophil coach (Jophin Lal, the boxing trainer of Alappuzha Gymkhana) met me, he said, ‘Since you know dance, it might be easier for you.’ Both the coach and Rahmanikka (Khalid Rahman) realised it and included some dance elements in my boxing sequences. You can see some movements like those in salsa in the ‘Panjara punch’ song,” says Anagha, subtly doing the cha-cha movements while seated.

A still from Alappuzha Gymkhana
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The actor was shown videos of two boxers with groovy fighting styles — Ben Whittaker and Emanuel Augustus — and her fights were choreographed to replicate their styles.

The cast trained for six months, which included weight training with Kochi-based fitness trainer Ali Shifas. “I had to bulk up, considering my smaller frame,” says the actor who increased her weight from 50 kilograms to 55 kilograms. “We used to have a WhatsApp group with all the people who had to increase their weight and another one for people who had to reduce weight. Everyday , we had to to send a picture after weighing, and even if a point is off, I would have to call and explain , ‘I didn’t do anything, I ate my food and did my exercise’. It’s very hard to gain weight when you are burning out everything you ate in the morning,” she adds.

A still from Alappuzha Gymkhana
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“Initially, Rahmanikka had to remind me multiple times that Natasha isn’t a 32-year-old woman but a 20-year-old girl. He was expecting a certain charm from us as young people, who live without many inhibitions or thoughts about the future,” says Anagha, who believes she was the opposite growing up. “Everyone around in the team were extroverts, who entertained people. But that side of me comes out only when I am with my circle [of friends]. The cast and crew helped me bring out that side more easily.”

Her first venture in the comedy genre; she was also working with a younger crew compared to her previous projects. The actor says it was her performance in Jeo Baby’s Kaathal-The Core as Femy Georgethat earned the role of Natasha with multiple actors recommending her. “The Alappuzha Gymkhana set was like a school for me with all the mischief and chaos. Kaathal was like a PTA meeting, but one with all my favourite teachers,” jokes Anagha.