Ritu Varma on playing conservative small-town girl
'Tuck Jagadish' is an extraordinary village tale replete with emotions, says the 'Pelli Choopulu' actor
For a city-bred girl Ritu Varma, playing a conservative small-town girl in her upcoming movie ‘Tuck Jagadish’ wasn’t so easy. A lot of practice and observation went into it. “I grew up in Hyderabad and had never witnessed life in rural areas. Whenever I get a chance to observe people, their expressions, their style, mannerism — everything gets stored in my memory. I am more of a director’s actor. Sometimes, I get into the skin of the character just by wearing costumes. Being into the character should be the primary focus of any actor,” says Ritu Varma.
Ritu Varma plays the character named Gummadi Varalakshmi, a Village Revenue Officer (VRO). The actor says ‘Tuck Jagadish’ is laced with family bonding and emotions. “Even though I play a small town girl, the character Varalakshmi has a bit of an authoritarian tone since she holds a respectable job. The story takes place in a fictional village called Bhudevipuram. She is a bit innocent and traditionally rooted as well. But, she would fight for what is right when an occasion arises.”
Adding further, she says, “This is a proper commercial Telugu film. ‘Tuck Jagadish’ is going to be an extraordinary village tale replete with emotions. I am sure audiences would own the film as much as they did all my earlier films.”
Post ‘Pelli Choopulu’
Post the success of Tharun Bhascker directorial ‘Pelli Choopulu’, the actor says she didn’t get scripts that she actually wanted to do. “I’ve been very selective because I only want to do films that interest me. That’s why the number of films I did are fewer post ‘Pelli Choopulu’. However, I’ve no qualms about rejecting stories that came my way. I am happy with the projects that I am currenting working on.”
Recalling her experience of working with Natural star Nani earlier during ‘Yevade Subramanyam’, the actor says, “Back then, I was very new to the film industry. I played a small role in the film. Since then, Nani hasn’t changed much. He’s so grounded with humility, that’s what makes him stand apart. He is a self-made star.”
Missing big screen
Releasing ‘Tuck Jagadish’ on Amazon Prime Video on September 10. Although it’s heartening to release a movie of such a big scale on OTT platform, the actor says it was decided keeping the current situation in view. “I will definitely miss watching it on the big screen. OTT has revolutionised the whole entertainment industry. When lockdown was imposed, OTT was the only source of entertainment. We knew the reach of the OTT platform. I can only hope ‘Tuck Jagadish’ will reach bigger audiences.
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