No jealousy between Eswari and Shamini Gunasagar until 1 went to Azerbaijan and South Africa to film: 'All she got me was a pair of socks'

There may be some animosity between their characters in the upcoming Tamil drama Mei, but Eswari and Shamini Gunasagar don't let anyone come between them in their real lives.

In Mei, Mayuri (Eswari) is one of three daughters of businessman Selvaraghavan (Soundrarajan Jeeva) and gets embroiled in an underworld crime ring as she tries to solve the disappearance of her father. Her older sister Mythili (Shamini) is also manipulated by her husband Sanjay (James Kumar) to turn against Mayuri.

Eswari told AsiaOne in an interview yesterday (June 6) that loved ones have never come in between the sisters in real life, as she is "best friends" with Shamini's husband.

"But there have been cases in interviews, or even random people coming up to us and saying, 'Your sister's getting this [opportunity], you know, have you ever felt jealous?' or, 'How do you feel about Shamini doing this but you not being able to do this?'" the 34-year-old said.

Shamini, 37, added: "Let's not even go so far back. With regards to Mei itself, people are actually coming up to me and asking me, 'Looks like your sister's got a bigger scope than you, how do you feel about it?'

"I'm like, 'What? We are both in the same drama, what else do I need?' Because, to me personally, I feel the weightage doesn't matter. Whatever is given to me, I have to put my 101 per cent and deliver what the director and producer want."

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Shamini added that she has never felt jealous of any opportunity Eswari has gotten because she can see her younger sister also give her all in her roles.

"Simply put, I think we understand that what's meant for someone will always be there for them. There's no point," Eswari said. "I think we've always been the kind of people who are happy for each other's growth."

But when Eswari got to film in Azerbaijan, South Africa and Malaysia for Mei while Shamini only filmed in Singapore, the latter admitted that she felt jealous.

"When we were talking about the project, the producer told me, 'You'll get to travel to Country A, Country B'," Shamini said.

She said she initially got told she'd get to go to "two or three" countries but a month after confirming her role, it narrowed to just one. After that, she was told that she would remain in Singapore.

"I was so upset about it and told the producer, 'You know what? I feel like I'm being conned into this project, I'm dropping it!'" she joked.

Meanwhile, Eswari had the time of her life in Azerbaijan and South Africa, posting an Instagram Reel about her experience in the former and telling AsiaOne that she extended her stay in the latter to visit the sights and sounds of "beautiful" Cape Town.

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/C7tmaW6vfZ-/?hl=en[/embed]

"There were a few other actors who also travelled to South Africa, and there were actors from South Africa who were filming as well, so I managed to get quite a number of days off," she added.

"That is the reason I'm advocating for South Africa as a beautiful country!"

Shamini quipped: "Despite extending her stay and all that, all she got me back as a souvenir was a pair of socks."

Eswari added that the aim of the drama being shot in four different countries was to "push boundaries" and "see what our capability is".

"The production house wanted to expand their horizons, go to different countries and explore," she added. "And as performers and artistes, I think that's also our purpose.

"It's not just being in a box, but trying to get out of the box and see where else we can go, what else we can do as artistes."

Not allowed to talk to each other during lunch break

When asked about their most difficult scene to film, Eswari and Shamini both picked one where the sisters said harsh words to each other.

"As much as she's playing another character, I'm seeing my sister, and it can get very, very personal," Eswari said. "You know she doesn't mean it or whatever, but god, it makes you feel very shitty."

What's more is that this scene took "six to seven hours" and "four or five takes" to film, and after their first take, the director spoke to the sisters.

"He told us, 'We're gonna go for lunch break now, but I don't want you to talk to each other'," Shamini said.

She added that she could be "a bit playful on set" but when the camera was rolling, she was "all about the job".

"But being told I shouldn't be talking to my sister, I was like 'No, no, no. Cannot,' but they did everything possible to make sure we didn't talk to each other or didn't even take a glance at each other," she said.

After the scene was completed, Eswari said that Shamini came up to her and hugged her, apologising, and she told her it was okay because it was "just a scene".

The crew and even the director came to comfort the sisters and ask if they were alright after they were done.

"I told him I was not okay," Eswari said.

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/C7ggpcXPhLS/?hl=en[/embed]

Mei also stars Saravanan Ayyavoo, Veronica Shaw and Jabur Deen Faruk, and premieres on Vasantham on June 12 at 10pm, airing Monday to Thursday. It also premieres the same day on mewatch and the Mediacorp Drama YouTube channel.

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drimac@asiaone.com

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