Enjoying attention

Making her debut with the movie Kalyanam, Varsha Bollamma came with a promise that she is here to stay. Waiting for her upcoming movie Mandaram and some other future projects, Varsha is no stranger to Malayalis. Long before her movies in Malayalam and Tamil, the spunky actress garnered attention on Facebook and Instagram through her famous Dubsmash videos.  

In fact, Varsha became the talk of the town after she uploaded a Dubsmash video in which she was seen impersonating actress Nazriya’s dialogue from Raja Rani. Interestingly, she is also a dead ringer for Nazriya. After the video went viral, many started to think she is her twin. In a fortnight’s time, the video was seen by almost by 1.5 lakh people.

From a Dubsmash video to a Nazriya look-alike to co-starring with Asif Ali in a romantic comedy, the journey has been wonderful and Varsha is thrilled. When asked about life after her debut movie Kalyanam, she says it has helped her a lot to understand the industry here.

“It has been a learning process. After Kalyanam, I have been getting offers here and I’m currently concentrating on the Malayalam industry. During Kalyanam, I shot for a Tamil movie called 96. I’m a small part of it, but it was completely worth it,” she says.  

Varsha is excited about her new film Mandaram with Asif Ali, considered to be one of the most bankable actors in the new generation of stars. “Working in Mandaram was a beautiful experience. I learnt that subtlety is the key, thanks to the director Vijesh. Asif Ali is someone with a lot of energy and positivity. That energy helped me big time since I was kind of nervous acting with him. He is actually a child at heart and ensured that the shooting spot was always a fun-filled one. I had an excellent time working with him, she says.  

Talking about the release, she says, “I am actually experiencing a mixture of anxiety and excitement! A song is already out and it’s getting good response from the audience.”

 When asked if she still does Dubsmash videos, she says, “I do Musically sometimes, when I’m bored. But, I don’t post them often. I have realised that there is so much more to it,” she smiles.  

“When people started calling me Nazriya’s lookalike, I was obviously excited at first and then I started feeling really nervous as to how people were going to accept me. But surprisingly, I have been receiving a lot of love from people here. I do get a few negative comments, but when I see the positivity and the love, the negative comments just vanish from my mind. People have accepted me and I am really thankful to them. The journey has been pleasant so far and Mandaram has a huge role to play. I am really excited for what lays ahead,” she says. There are more works in the pipeline for her and she is currently working on Soothrakkaran, starring Niranj Maniyanpilla Raju and Gokul Suresh in the lead roles, directed by Anil.