Malayalam cinema actress Aishwarya Lekshmi feels films in her home turf are currently obsessed with too much of realism, adding that she would love to see an actor who can "dance how Mohanlal and Mammootty did in the nineties".

Aishwarya stars alongside National Award-winning Tamil star Dhanush in the upcoming Tamil gangster thriller "Jagame Thandhiram", and she feels each of the South Indian film industries has moved ahead in distinct directions.

"In Tamil, we have a very good mix of both (commercial entertainers and realistic films). We have films that are there to entertain, may be mindless or not mindless. In Telugu, style matters a lot. The way of storytelling, the visual way of telling. Even in Tamil, visual way of storytelling is very important," says Aishwarya, who started her film career with the 2017 Malayalam film "Njandukalude Nattil Oridavela". However, her breakthrough role came in her second film "Mayanadhi" later the same year, following which she had four releases before making her Tamil debut in the 2019 film "Action".

About contemporary Malayalam cinema, she tells IANS: "I think with Malayalam right now, what we are producing is hell-bent on being realistic. As an audience, I am taking a back seat now and thinking I want to see dance and songs in Malayalam films. I want to see a Malayali actor dance how Mohanlal and Mammootty did in the nineties!"

Her new film with Dhanush is more of an out-and-out entertainer. She is guarded about her character.

"The maximum I can say is (the role is of) a singer and (she is) from Sri Lanka. She is an important character in the film. I think as an actor I have got more than what I can expect," she sums up.

"Jagame Thandhiram" streams on Netflix from June 18.