Muscat: Was it the arid mountains embracing the vast sand dunes or the turquoise blue waters that awe-inspire those who are pampered by the sea breeze on the shores of Oman sea or the unique, hospitable people of the Sultanate of Oman that made Aparna Balamurali, a national award winner to suggest her next film to be shot in the country?
Ask her and the innocuously smiling FilmFare winner would reply: “It can be all these factors that combine to make someone fall with Oman at the first sight. Oman is a country with a unique landscape and I enjoy the warmth right from Musandam to Salalah during my two trips to the country in the recent past. Above all the natural wonders that will make a visitor wow, it is the friendliness of the people that made me keep the country in my heart,” she said.
Speaking to the Observer on the sidelines of the Onam celebrations hosted by the Palakkad Friends, she praised the great amount of attention that the country is paying to preserve the environment and to keep the surroundings spic and span.
“What has attracted me while me and my family were roaming around the country is the care and attention that the country is paying to the environment and natural settings. This is the country where one can see nature more than the man-made concrete jungles,” she said.
Aparna Balamurali is a well-known name in the Indian tinsel town and she primarily works in Malayalam and Tamil films. She is better known for her series of cinemas built in the natural settings and her latest flick, ‘Kishkinda Kandam, is successfully running in Oman theatres.
Recipient of SIIMA award besides the national award and FilmFare awards, she was catapulted to the limelight with her roles in Maheshinte Prathikaaram in 2016, Sunday Holiday in 2017 and Soorarai Pottru in 2020 with Surya. She bagged the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in the last of these.
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