She speaks fast, and with a melodious lilt. Varalaxmi, daughter of actor Sarathkumar, is foraying into Mollywood with the Mammootty starrer Kasaba. She smiles as she recollects Mammootty’s advice to her for rendering dialogue; “He would tell me ‘say it slowly’,” she laughs.
Kasaba is Varalaxmi’s first Malayalam movie. “My character’s name is Kamala. She is a bold, fierce, and stubborn woman with negative shades who gets what she wants. It took me a few days to understand the character and say yes to Nithin, the director,” says Varalaxmi.
She is happy to debut alongside Mammootty, with whom her father acted in Pazhassi Raja.
Was she nervous? “I was extremely nervous during my first scene with Mammootty sir,” recalls Varalaxmi. “It is a beautiful feeling to share the screen with such a person and obviously I was a little nervous. It was wonderful working with him.”
Varalaxmi’s portions were shot in Kolar, the border of Karnataka and Palani. “We had a lot of fun moments,” says Varalaxmi recollecting how everyone including Mammootty encouraged her to try different biryanis.
Varalaxmi had no difficulty with Malayalam lines. “I used to memorise the dialogues the previous night. It was a tad difficult, but I succeeded.”
Kasaba is Varalaxmi’s sixth movie. She launched her career in Tamil with Podaa Podi in 2012. Later she was seen in Maanikya in Kannada, Tharai Thappattai, Nibunan, and Madha Gaja Raja in Tamil. “Acting just happened to me. The script of Podaa Podi was beautiful and hence I couldn’t reject the offer,” says the student of Anupam Kher’s acting school. Varalaxmi realised her heart belongs to movies after doing her first film. “I understood that acting was something that I enjoyed very much.” She was a dancer before venturing into movies.
Has she taken acting cues from her father’s on-screen characters? “No. I have my own style. I don’t copy anybody,” says Varalaxmi, who keeps her characters in Podaa Podi and Tharai Thappattai close to her heart. “Tharai Thappattai brought my acting talent to the fore,” she says, adding, “I owe that to Bala sir.”
How does she choose films? “First comes the script, then the reach of the character. It should stay in someone’s mind. I like my characters to make a mark like Suravali in Tharai Thappattai. People should enjoy my work.”
