Pellichoopulu has been the talk of the town after it became a huge hit despite being a low-budget movie, thanks to a good script, and the stunning performances of the actors.
For Ritu Varma, who played the lead in the movie, the acclaims are yet to sink in. This small-budget movie — her fifth — has surged her three-year-old career graph even higher, after the success of her last film Yevade Subramanyam in 2015.
Her role was appreciated by many industry veterans, including Dasari Narayana Rao. Ritu says, “I have known director Tharun Bhascker for long. I had acted in his short film in 2012 after which I entered Tollywood.”
A still from Pellichoopulu
“When Bhascker said he had me in mind while writing Pellichoopulu, I just agreed to do it because I knew it would be the perfect role for me.”
Showering praises on her director, Ritu says, “Bhascker always made films differently and I had the confidence in him. However, I never expected such a huge success.”
Like the movie, the shooting too was different. They attended acting workshops and went for on-the-spot recording, something we see only in Ram Gopal Varma style of filmmaking.
“We attended a few workshops to get into our characters and to know each other. It helped us deliver our best. We wanted to be as realistic as possible. We didn’t shoot at any extraordinary locations but in normal houses, wore normal outfits and looked simple and natural,” the actress recalls.
About spot recording instead of dubbing later, she says, “It actually makes us improve and perform naturally rather than repeating the dialogues at a dubbing studio which may not sync.”
It’s almost three years since her debut, but Ritu has worked in only five films. “Actually, I never planned on doing films, so I’ve been accepting only good scripts,” she says.
However, she is getting a lot of offers post Pellichoopulu, but she is not in a hurry. “I haven’t signed any Tollywood film. Currently, I am doing a Tamil film directed by Harshavardhan, who has worked earlier with A.R. Murugadoss,” she says.
Born and brought up in Hyderabad, Ritu Varma speaks Telugu fluently. “People from other industries are also producing good films,” says the actress who wants to do good films and significant roles in South Indian languages.
