Director of 'Bad Girl' Varsha Bharath on breaking stereotypes around women-centric films and more

The teaser of Bad Girl, which was released on Sunday, presented a refreshing coming-of-age tale. Director Varsha Bharath, who makes her debut with the film, reveals that she wanted to make a coming-of-age film from a woman’s perspective.

On the world of Bad Girl and how she made a conscious decision to make it a fun entertainer, Varsha says, “When a woman makes a film, there is a general notion that it wouldn’t be a mainstream entertainer. And women-centric films often tend to focus on the struggles women face in society.

With Bad Girl, I wanted to change that, and capture a women-centric film through a colourful and vibrant lens,” says Varsha, before adding, “I wanted to show that women have fun too.”

Produced by Vetri Maaran’s Grass Root Film Company, the film is presented by the director along with Anurag Kashyap. Varsha, who worked as an assistant director for Vetri Maaran, recounts how both the filmmakers came on board the project. “Bad Girl was first made for a streaming platform but that didn’t happen due to creative differences.

Later, I approached Vetri Maaran sir and since he had already read the script, he was willing to take up the project. When Anurag Kashyap sir came on sets to film Viduthalai Part 2, he watched the rough cut of Bad Girl and he wanted to be a part of it as well,” says the debutant. While Tamil cinema has a long history of coming-of-age and women-centric films, they have become a rarity in recent times.

“It is not just the coming-of-age genre, human dramas like the ones director Visu used to do, have become rare as well,” notes Varsha, before addressing a preconceived notion plaguing the industry. “People often say that women don’t come to theatres as much as the men but maybe if they make the kind of films women want to watch they will show up,” she says.

Set in Chennai, Bad Girl stars Anjali Sivaraman, Shanthi Priya, Hridhu Haroon, TeeJay Arunasalam, Sashank Bommireddipalli, and Saranya Ravichandran. The film will have its world premiere at the 54th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, from 30th January to 9th February 2025, where it has been selected to be a part of the prestigious Tiger Competition.

The technical crew of Bad Girl comprises cinematographers Preetha Jayaraman (ISC), Jagadeesh Ravi, and Prince Anderson; editor Radha Sridhar; and composer Amit Trivedi, who is making his Tamil debut with the film. While Bad Girl is expected to hit the theatres in the next few months, the makers are yet to announce a release date.
(Written by Prashanth Vallavan)