Chennai, Feb 10 (IANS) : She doesn't smoke in real life, but veteran southern actress Nalini, who had to smoke a cigar for her role in upcoming Tamil horror-thriller "13aam Pakkam Paarka", said the experience was not pleasant.

Nalini plays an exorcist in the film, which is being directed by Pugazhmani. It also features Ratthan Mouli, Ram Karthik and Priyanka in lead roles.

"My director persuaded me to smoke a cigar for the role. He said it was apt for the role and although I was uncertain initially, I did it eventually for the role. It was not a pleasant experience because I don't smoke in real life," Nalini told IANS.

She says she didn't regret doing the role.

"As an actor you need to be prepared for anything. My entire team was happy with my performance and that's my reward. It was a challenging role but I was convinced that I could pull it off, and so I did finally," she added.

Nalini is known for her work in films in the 1970s and 1980s such as "Aval Appadithan", "Sangharshana" and "24 Mani Neram".

In the last decade, she was actively involved in television with daily soaps such as "Kolangal" and "Idhayam".