Regina Cassandra emphasises her love for diverse characters, her growth as an actor, her evolving comfort with watching herself on screen, and of course, her upcoming film Vidaamuyarchi.
Last Updated: 10.24 AM, Jan 30, 2025
Through the years, films have found their way of finding new talents and actors. Now is the era of social media, and before this was television where artistes transitioned from small screens to silver screens. But there once was a time when short films provided fodder for films, and actor Regina Cassandra is one among them.
While the actor is commonly hailed for her unconventional choices of roles right from her debut Kanda Naal Mudhal (2005), her stance to take up offbeat roles started way before, from her short film days. A mention of some of my favourites from Regina’s filmography, be it the 60-minute feature film Mugizh or her short films like Kaanal Neer and Aasai Mugam Marandhu Poche, Regina reacts, “It is understandable there were niche audience, and really nice when people pick different kind of films. Mugizh was supposed to be a short film, and then turned out to be an hour long. The other two short films you mentioned are very old works of mine, in fact from a time when I did not think acting was a career, and was just doing it for passion. Woah, that took me back in time (laughs)!”
Regina Cassandra is from that batch of artistes whose short films became the portfolio of work that eventually catapulted her to big-screen acting. As someone who has learnt Bharatanatyam in childhood, Regina says she was inclined towards art, right from her younger days. “I understand when people can post pictures and get seen. Only the accessibility has become bigger for women, and platform to showcase their talent, for that matter for anyone has become wider now.”
But Regina also explains how she had done short films without thinking of what she would be doing with this in the future. “I did because I enjoyed it, and I had opportunities to do it. Somehow, it came together for me, and whenever I look back at Kanda Naal Mudhal, when I was merely 14 years old, I had zero inhibitions. There was no question if I was confident enough to do it, I just did it. That has helped me to be confident in my craft,” she says. Admitting to how she cannot do networking, and be seen at the right time with the right people, Regina says it was and is an organic process of navigating from project to project and sustaining her.
Awaiting the release of Ajith Kumar-starrer Vidaamuyarchi which had faced delays in release, and some of her films like Party and Borrder yet to see daylight, the actor reflects on how she faces such circumstances, “Honestly, it is not in my hands. There is some sort of dejection, but at the end of the day, I am an actor and that is my job. If responsibilities were on my shoulders, my team and I would step in to see how to help the producers. But that is only secondary, and that doesn’t happen all the time. As an actor, at the end of the day, I would do my job and go, but if needed, I would of course step in and help.”
A familiar face in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Regina feels that Tamil cinema has yet to push her boundaries as much as Telugu cinema did. Not understanding the reasons behind the phenomena, Regina says, “I think I am a versatile actor, and having done for 20 years, I know what I can, cannot do and work on. With Vidaamuyarchi, Magizh sir told me that there are scenes where people will be able to see the performer within me. In terms of layered character, I feel Vidaamuyarchi has given me that.”
When Regina first heard her character in Vidaamuyarchi, the actor says she was quite excited. “I had a lot of questions, and just knowing what I was going to be doing, the homework for character, got me excited. Magizh sir had written the character and poured in quite a bit into the role.”
As she says her role could still be “mentally stimulating”, Regina asserts that she does not leave her characters too attached to her for long. “I don’t let them stick on to me, but what I learnt through the process, like playing Mrinalini Sarabhai from Rocket Boys, I loved how that woman lived her life, while being in public eye, tumultuous relationship, and married to a man who is considered India’s pride. Or Saakini Daakini which is physically demanding..I would take such aspects but I am very detached person and would like to practice as much as I can in my life,” Regina mentions.
However, Regina who once stated that she does not prefer seeing herself, now says she has got more comfortable watching herself. “I think now I have learnt, and I don’t mind watching myself more than what I was used to before.”
Wrapping up the conversation, Regina says that her major journey from Vidaamuyarchi is the journey itself. “The people on sets matter, how they are treated. On a set like Vidaamuyarchi, the journey was really good, all of them made efforts despite weather conditions and many odds against us. Whether it was our crew, or the local Azerbaijani group, Magizh sir, Om Prakash sir, the actors, I think it was a very positive set for the little time I was there.”
There’s a lot happening on the professional side for Regina in 2025, as she signs off by saying that her entire process has been slow, steady and sustainable, but also a power-packed!