“DON’T ACT”, VIJAY SETHUPATHI TOLD ME

96 is an upcoming film directed by Premkumar that features Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha as the leads. The latest addition to the star cast is Varsha Bollamma who had featured in films like Yaanum Theeyavan and Ivan Yaarendru Therigiradha. We catch up with the cute actress to know more details about 96.

How did you bag 96?
Director Prem was the DoP of my film, Ivan Yaarendru Therigiradha. He is an amazing person. He told me the story and I liked it and that’s how I came on board 96.

What is your role like?
I am not playing the main lead. But I am not allowed to talk about my character or my role in the film.

Working in 96
The team is very nice. Prem sir, Vijay Sethupathi sir and DoP Shanmugasundaram are all friends and you feel like seeing a friends group working together. They all have that inner innocence. Assistant directors are exactly like Prem sir. Usually, they are under pressure. But in 96, even though they were under pressure, they never lost their cool. The way they respect the artists is something very good. It was wonderful working with them.

What did you learn from Vijay Sethupathi?
The best part was I got to work with Vijay Sethupathi sir in 96. He is a fantastic person. You would have heard that from so many people but that is the truth. I got to learn a lot from him.

On the professional front, he is a very spontaneous actor. He does not stick to the dialogues. He also told me - Don’t act, feel the scene/situation. His acting is very natural and effortless. I learnt from him not to mug up my dialogues but to feel the situation and react.

On the personal front, he is very very humble. Usually, after the shoot, we all go back to our respective rooms. But he comes back to take pictures with his fans who will be waiting. This could even go up to 2 -3 hours. These are lessons for me that how much ever you grow in stature, never to lose your foothold.