Interview with Revathy Varma

Revathy Varma was in her final year BSc when she ended up shooting Rexona's ad. She used to live in New Delhi in those days. She has come a long way since and has released her first film in Tamil, June R starring Jyothika, Khushboo and Saritha in the lead.

"I was very much interested in films from my childhood. I used to participate in dance, dramas and songs in my schooldays. After a while, I fell in love with films. Soon, I decided to make a career in it. But in those days, nobody was interested in having females as their assistants. So, I switched to ad films," she said.

Did you have difficulties in the field?
I did. Advertising was predominantly a male-dominated field. But when I announced in Chennai that I was going to enter films, the media was very supportive.

How was your family's support?
My husband K Subhash had won the best director award once. Had he not encouraged me, I would never have done this film.

How did you suddenly decide to make a feature film?
Making a feature film is every director's dream. But I didn't rush into it. Jyothika had a major role to play in this project. Credit goes to her to make this project possible.

How?
I was planning to make the film in Hindi. I went to Mumbai and spoke to Rani Mukherjee, Jaya Bachchan and Tabu. I waited more than eight months for their dates. I was ready to wait for them. At that time, my husband was planning to make a film with Madhavan and Jyothika. I once went to meet Jyothika along with my husband. She casually asked me about my Hindi film's story. I gave her a thread. She suddenly suggested that we might as well make the film in Tamil itself. Tamil audience loves sentimental stories. I liked the idea too.

Are you happy about your entry in films?
Of course I'm happy! But it is a fact that it becomes very difficult to concentrate on the family too. It was possible for me because my husband knew very well about films.

Would you call this your dream project?
I would. The story is based on an event that occurred in my life. I had decided a long time ago to make that into a film. I wrote the film's script, screenplay and dialogues myself. I used to write short stories. Some of them were published in magazines.

Will you direct Malayalam films?
I'd love to. Malayalam is my mother tongue.

Why did you make a heroine- oriented film?
Surya is the hero of this film. But this is a heroine oriented film. The audience will love them.