Saranya was one of those actresses who had an exclusive league of fan following for herself back in the day. In an era that was filled with retro glamour and cabaret sequences, she was like a breath of fresh air for the audiences. People loved her for the demure, modest heroine that she was.

And those qualities were not a testament to her acting skills. She set herself a class apart after her performances in Nayagan, Manasukkul Mathappu, Ulagam Pirandhadhu Enakkaga, Agni Paarvai, Karuthamma and Meendum Savithri.

After having numerous hits in the 80s, Saranya got married to a fellow actor from the industry. “Ponvannan and I were working on a film together but had never spoken to each other on the personal front. That was the time I was pursuing fashion designing and between shots, I used to sketch. He used to appreciate my drawings as he was an artist himself.

After we wrapped up the movie, we didn’t talk to each other.”  But as fate would have it, Saranya received a call from Ponvannan asking her to act in a movie with him for a lifetime. “It was a novel proposal. At first, I thought he was joking and asked him for the details of the film and the time duration; he said ’70 years’.

At first, I did not understand, and then he explained that he wanted to marry me. I told him that I needed ’10 days’ to think about it. He said ‘take as long as you like, I won’t run behind you like a lovesick person if you say no and neither will I stalk you and force you into saying yes’. Exactly after 10 days, I accepted his proposal!”